Before you head off to work or school, be sure to buckle up the way you always should in the car. The National 'Click It or Ticket' Campaign kicks off today and police officers everywhere are watching you.

Seaside Heights Police Chief Tom Boyd says wearing a seat belt is a must in order to prevent tragedies on the roads.

"The Ticket or Click It Campaign is going to save a lot of lives, they have been saving lives" Boyd said. "I think it's a great program. If you get into an accident it could stop you from getting your head hit in the windshield or snapping your neck."

It's a very simple thing and yet something many forget or neglect to even do...wear a seatbelt.

Not buckling up has proven fatal in some accidents and it's something Boyd says his officers have seen way too often.

"We've been to way too many accidents where we've seen so many people get hurt or thrown from the vehicle," Boyd said. "If they would have had their seatbelt on, they would have stayed inside the vehicle and they would have survived."

On the bright side, Boyd feels more and more people are getting the message, but it still needs to be enforced.

"I think, believe it or not, that people are now picking up on wearing seatbelts a lot more," Boyd said. "With the Click It or Ticket Campaign, we get federal money (grants) to put officers out there to write tickets."

You can expect to see a larger police presence setting up radar, not just in Seaside Heights, but in every jersey shore municipality....so be sure to always buckle up.

As we head into Memorial Day weekend in the middle of this campaign, Boyd says you can expect to see a few extra eyes on drivers.

"We have a very large influx of police officers who came in that just graduated the academy and we're bringing a lot of guys who are back from last year," Boyd said. "We have probably a total of 50 that stay year round."

Officers will be be extra attention to distracted driving in Seaside Heights as well, which of course includes texting and driving.

The Click It or Ticket Campaign runs from now thru June 3.

Here are the Jersey Shore towns receiving grants from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General's Department of Law and Public/Highway Traffic Safety for the campaign:

  • Allentown PD $5,500.00
  • Asbury Park PD $5,500.00
  • Eatontown PD $5,500.00
  • Englishtown PD $5,500.00
  • Freehold PD $5,500.00
  • Freehold Twp PD $5,500.00
  • Ocean PD $5,500.00
  • Sea Bright PD $5,500.00
  • Sea Girt PD $5,500.00
  • Barnegat PD $5,500.00
  • Bay Head PD $5,500.00
  • Berkeley PD $5,500.00
  • Harvey Cedars PD $5,500.00
  • Lakehurst PD $5,500.00
  • Long Beach PD $5,500.00
  • Manchester PD $5,500.00
  • Mantoloking PD $5,500.00
  • Ocean Gate PD $5,500.00
  • Ocean Twp PD $5,500.00
  • Pine Beach PD $5,500.00
  • Plumsted PD $5,500.00
  • Point Pleasant Beach PD $5,500.00
  • Ship Bottom PD $5,500.00
  • South Toms River PD $5,500.00
  • Stafford PD $5,500.00

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