This week CLICK IT OR TICKET is going to be enforced and cracked down on in New Jersey.

Heading to Starbucks to grab a mocha latte or caramel frapp? Running to the local Wawa real quick for gas? Don't forget to buckle up! This week all law enforcement officers across the state are cracking down on drivers who don't wear their seat belts, in an effort to save lives.Click it or Ticket is a zero-tolerance campaign from May 23 through June 5,meaning all violators will be issued a ticket without a warning. The campaign aims to increase seatbelt usage in New Jersey.

Some may think this campaign is unfair or annoying. They may ask, "Why is this being enforced?" It's simple: seat belts save lives! In 2014 alone more than half of vehicle accidents resulted in the death of a passenger. In Ocean County alone, since January 2016, there have been 14 fatalities. Below is a list including all fatalities this year in New Jersey from New Jersey's State Police website.

New Jersey Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities by County (from January 2016 - May 11, 2016):

Sussex: 5

Warren: 8

Passaic: 11

Morris: 7

Bergen: 9

Essex: 12

Hudson: 7

Union: 6

Somerset: 4

Middlesex: 19

Hunterdon: 5

Mercer: 6

Monmouth: 17

Ocean: 14

Burlington: 6

Camden: 13

Atlantic: 6

Gloucester: 15

Salem: 6

Cumberland: 12

Cape May: 5

http://www.njsp.org/info/fatalacc/

That's 193 fatalities out of 183 accidents, most of which could have been prevented by the use of a seatbelt. Did you know that the odds of dying from a car crash without a seatbelt are 1 in 2? That's 50 percent of car accidents, ending in death.

According to New Jersey's Department of Law and Public Safety site, "Click It or Ticket campaigns and similar efforts have increased safety belt use in cities, states and even in an entire region of the country. In New Jersey, 372 police agencies participated in the May 2015 Click It or Ticket Enforcement Mobilization. New Jersey's seat belt usage rate currently stands at 91.36 percent, up from 87.59 percent in 2014 and the highest usage rate since the 94.51 percent that was recorded in 2011."

How much time does it really take to buckle up? Just a simple click and you could save your own life. To some people it is an automatic instinct, and that's what we want. To others, it's a nuisance. But you only live once, and nothing is more precious than the value of life.

Captain Greg Meyer of the Lakewood Police Department, says that "Stats have proven that wearing your seatbelt saves lives when your involved in a motor vehicle accident."

Make sure to buckle up this week, and from now on, because it could save you from a $45 ticket, and possibly save your life.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/ciot/index.html#share