Get Ready for Statewide Click It or Ticket Campaign: May 23 - June 5, 2011

The State of Texas versus your individual right to choose how you live.  It's an ongoing fight.  There's the No Refusal Campaign, where you're forced to give your blood in a blood test or your breath at the scene anytime a cop pulls you over for suspicion of drunk driving.  

There's also the Click It or Ticket campaign, where your choice on whether or not to wear that seat belt is taken away.  Well, not taken: you're just gonna get a ticket whenever you get caught.

Civil Liberties Versus Police Power

Lots of folk believe that it is unduly intrusive for the state government to force individuals to wear seat belts. And these aren't just zanies -- they include respected safety professionals like Peter Thompson, who served as the State of New Hampshire Safety Chief, and in that official capacity was against New Hampshire's implementing forced seat belt laws back in 2005.   

The argument against these types of law is simple:  seat belt laws invade your freedom unnecessarily.  These laws are not protecting the public at large - if you fail to wear one, the risk of harm is borne by you.  Therefore, forcing citizens under the police power to wear their seat belt crosses over the line of legitimate police power.   Not that this argument has stopped these laws from being passed in Texas and other states. 

May 23 - June 5, 2011: Texas Click It or Ticket Campaign Covers the Memorial Day Holiday

Here in Texas, it has been announced that Texas law enforcement are going to be on the lookout for drivers that are operating a motor vehicle without a seat belt over the Memorial Day Weekend in the latest Click It or Ticket Campaign. 

But be careful out there -- because Click It or Ticket goes to more than just a driver not wearing a safety belt: even those folk setting in the BACK SEAT can be ticketed because they aren't buckled up.

Other ways to get a ticket during the Click It or Ticket campaign?  

Not having kids younger than 8 years old buckled into either a child safety seat or booster seat unless they've grown past the legal limit of 4 feet 9 inches in height. 

What's the cost of not obeying the law?  A ticket totaling $250 plus court costs.