Montgomery County to deploy extra deputies for seat belt enforcement

Deputies will strictly enforce and issue citations for failing to wear seat belts and improperly restraining children, the release said.

The sheriff’s office quoted statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which found that 47% of the 22,215 people killed in vehicle crashes in 2019 were not wearing seat belts.

NHTSA also said that although seat belt usage has climbed to around 90%, this still leaves millions of motorists each day not buckling up.

Research has found wearing lap and shoulder seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury for front-seat passengers by 45%, and the risk of moderate to critical injury by 50%, the sheriff’s office said.