Massachusetts Police Target Men In Seat Belt Use Campaign

BOSTON (AP) — Police across Massachusetts are cracking down on seat belt use, paying special attention to younger men.

The state this week launched its latest Click It or Ticket public education and enforcement campaign with special emphasis on men in the 18 to 34 age range.

The state Highway Safety Division says that age group is the least likely to use seat belts. Nationally within that age group, men killed in crashes were unbuckled or unrestrained nearly 59 percent of the time.

One reason that seat belt use is so low among young men is that many drive pickup trucks or commercial vehicles, which they mistakenly think gives them better protection in a crash.

More than 200 local departments will join the state police in the enforcement effort, which runs through May 23.

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