BALTIMORE — In 2018, 511 people were killed in crashes on Maryland's highways.
Each year one in three vehicle occupants who died in crashes was not wearing a seat belt.
On Monday, the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration Highway Safety Office launched its 2019 Click It or Ticket campaign.
To help launch the campaign, law enforcement from around the state conducted seat belt checks Monday morning at the Baltimore-Harford County line.
In 2018, 70% of back seat occupants in cars, SUVs and pick-up trucks were buckled up in Maryland. In 2018, 90.3% of Maryland drivers and front-seat passengers wore seat belts when traveling state roadways, which has decreased from 2017.
"Unfortunately, this is still a major problem. We still have a lot of people who refuse to wear their seat belts for one reason or another,” said Baltimore County officer Johnathan Strickler. “When wearing a seat belt, it's been proven that the seat belt will protect you in the unfortunate case you are involved in a crash."
In Maryland, every driver and passenger must wear a seat belt. Children under the age of 8 must be in a booster or child safety seat. Each person not buckled will receive an $83 citation.
The Click It or Ticket campaign runs until early June.
