Many in pickups don't buckle up

WASHINGTON -- People who ride in pickups use seat belts less often than passengers in cars, and the consequences are deadlier: A higher percentage of people killed in pickup crashes didn't buckle up compared with those in passenger cars, the government reported today.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released those statistics to open the national "Click It or Ticket" campaign, which is aimed at enforcing seat-belt laws nationwide using police checkpoints and patrols. The two-week campaign runs from May 23 through June 5.

The agency says more than 80 percent of the people in passenger cars buckled up in 2003, compared with 70 percent of those in pickups.

But the numbers were more stark in terms of fatalities: 70 percent of those killed in pickup crashes in 2003 did not wear safety belts, compared with 50 percent of the fatalities in cars.

"While overall safety-belt use is at an all-time high of 80 percent, 6,000 more lives could be saved each year if everyone buckled up," said Jeffrey Runge, administrator of the traffic-safety agency.

To spread the message, the Transportation Department was spending more than $26 million on advertising to alert those who ride in pickups and other vehicles about the importance of wearing safety belts.

Statistics show seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45 percent in passenger cars and up to 60 percent in pickups, sport utility vehicles and minivans.

By Ken Thomas - The Associated Press

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