HARRISBURG (PRNewswire-USNewswire) – Pennsylvania is one of only three states chosen to receive special funding through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to strengthen seat belt law enforcement, PennDOT said Tuesday.
As a result of the grant, approximately $400,000 in federal funding has been distributed to 184 municipal police departments in 18 counties with low seat belt use and large populations. The counties are Allegheny, Berks, Butler, Cambria, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Washington, Westmoreland and York.
The program includes two enforcement waves: March 1-7 and Sept. 24-30. In addition to the new program, state police and 340 local police departments will participate in the national “Click It or Ticket” efforts from May 14 through June 3 and Nov. 19-25.
Pennsylvania’s seat belt usage rate rose to 86 percent in 2006, a nearly three-percentage-point jump from 2005. PennDOT estimates with every percentage point increase in seat belt use, eight to 12 lives are saved.