NORFOLK, Va. — With millions expected to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend, officials with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) want to make sure people are staying safe.
The Virginia DMV, AAA, first responders, local law enforcement, and Virginia State Police are coming together for the annual "Click It or Ticket" campaign to promote seatbelt use.
Part of this campaign will include high visibility enforcement along busy roads and highways to prevent crashes, the Virginia DMV said.
According to AAA, more than 42 million people nationwide will be traveling for the holiday, just 1% shy of holiday travel numbers from the pre-pandemic days of 2019. Nearly 90% of them will be traveling on the road.
In Virginia, 1.16 million people are expected to be traveling.
“The roads of Virginia will be very busy this weekend with holiday travelers, and that means there’s a greater potential for crashes,” Morgan Dean, a AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson, wrote in a news release. “We want everyone to be safe. We encourage drivers to limit distractions, obey the speed limit, and make sure they buckle up everyone in the vehicle before they set out on that Great American Road Trip.”
In a recent seat belt survey, more than 18% of Virginians still don’t wear their seat belt. In Virginia last year, 5,427 unrestrained people were involved in crashes. There were 3,702 unrestrained injuries and 375 deaths involving unrestrained people.