FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2001
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announced that radio and television public service announcements will begin airing throughout the state today announcing the kickoff of the Memorial Day Click It or Ticket effort. South Carolina will join seven other Southeastern states in a region-wide effort to save lives during one of the heaviest traveled holidays of the year.

"Memorial Day begins the 100 deadly days of summer when families take to the highways for vacations and tourists pour into our state," Gov. Jim Hodges said. "Law enforcement will be working extra hard during this deadly time on our highways to make sure people reach their destinations safely."

DPS will again be joined by local law enforcement in this campaign, which is part public education and part enforcement. Public safety checkpoints will be set up again in areas throughout the state. These kinds of checkpoints have been used for years during heavily traveled holiday periods such as Memorial Day. Drivers will be asked to show their driver’s license and registration and any obvious violations will be ticketed, including seatbelt and child restraint violations. DPS will also hold child safety seat clinics at welcome centers throughout the state to help parents make sure they are properly restraining their children.

"Our goal through Click It or Ticket is not to see how many citations we can issue," said DPS Director B. Boykin Rose. "It’s to educate the public about the importance of buckling up, buckling up children and obeying all traffic laws. We hope not to have to issue a single citation."

The public service announcements will run from May 14-May 28 alerting the public about the use of public safety checkpoints during the Memorial Day holiday. The checkpoint locations are also available on the DPS web site at www.scdps.org. The campaign runs from May 21-June 3 and will not stop at South Carolina’s borders. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee will join in the regional Click It or Ticket effort to save lives

During the two-week Thanksgiving campaign in 2000, the fatality rate fell by almost 30 percent from the year before at a comparable time and fatal collisions fell by almost 40 percent compared to 1999. Seat belt use in South Carolina rose to almost 74 percent, a nine percentage point jump.

For more information on Click It or Ticket, please log on to the DPS web site at www.scdps.org.

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SI/68/2001

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