3630 Camp Circle l Decatur, GA 30032
(404) 294-2220
Sgt. John R. Gardner - Project Director

September 17, 1997

Six cities within DeKalb County, the Georgia State Patrol, Safe Kids of DeKalb, DeKalb EMS, DeKalb Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU), and the DeKalb Strategic Traffic Accident Reduction (STAR) Team participated in Operation Click It or Ticket. The cities consisted of Lithonia, Clarkston, Decatur, Avondale Estates, Doraville, and Chamblee.

The following is a synopsis of Operation Click It or Ticket and the Labor Day weekend enforcement by the STAR Team.

The purpose of Operation Click It or Ticket is to bring awareness to the general public about the need to fasten seat belts and the proper use of child safety seats. With increased usage of seat belts and child safety seats, serious bodily injury and fatalities from traffic crashes can be prevented. This aids the Department of Public Safety by keeping the resources of police, fire, and emergency medical services from being over-utilized. The timing of Operation Click It or Ticket is purposely placed near Labor Day Weekend, because this holiday traditionally has the second highest number of traffic fatalities.

Following Operation Click It or Ticket, the STAR Team conducted saturation patrol on the expressways within DeKalb County during the entire holiday weekend. The purpose was to enforce traffic laws that usually have a direct effect on traffic fatalities. The officers were told to look for speeders and incidents of following too close and improper lane changes on the expressways. These are all evidence of aggressive drivers. The officers were also told to strictly enforce the occupant protection laws of the State of Georgia. It was felt that by using saturation patrol traffic crashes on the expressways would be reduced, thereby reducing the number of traffic fatalities in DeKalb County over Labor Day weekend.

 The DeKalb Board of Health conducted traffic surveys at the exact locations on the same day of the week and at the same time that the roadblock would be conducted in the various cities. These surveys provide data about the number of vehicles that pass by a location, the number of seat belt users, and the number of children in a child safety seat. The surveys will be redone anywhere from a week to a month after the roadblocks, and comparisons will be done. Past experience shows that seat belt usage goes up after Operation Click It or Ticket.

The roadblocks are conducted in each city. The first roadblock of the day is from 1000 hours to 1130 hours. The second roadblock is from 1300 hours to 1430 hours. These time periods were picked to minimize any effect on rush hour traffic. The TEU and STAR Team officers provided the manpower in the street to observe the seat belt and child restraint violations and to obtain the driver's license and proof of insurance. Violations were recorded on post-it notes and attached to the vehicle. Vehicles with a post-it note were directed to the parking lot, where the city police officers or the Georgia State Troopers issued citations and made arrests. The following schedule was followed:

Inspection of child safety seats is an integral part of Operation Click It or Ticket. At each roadblock there was a child safety seat inspection area set up by volunteers of Safe Kids of DeKalb. There were free child safety seats available to be given to indigent parents with small children. Teddy bears and coloring books and crayons were distributed to children that were "inconvenienced" by the roadblock. Many parents commented that they appreciated the fact that someone cared enough to inspect their child safety seat for proper installation.

The STAR Team conducted saturation patrol on Thursday, August 28^th from 0800 to 1630 hours. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday the working hours were from 1200 to 2030 hours. Each officer was assigned an expressway to aggressively patrol for speeding violations, improper lane changes, following too close, seat belt violations, and child restraint violations.

 Operation Click It or Ticket did not yield as many citations as last year. Last year there were 525 citations written, compared to 399 this year. There may be three reasons that this occurred. The first may be that the primary seat belt law has had an effect on seat belt usage. The second may be that Operation Click It or Ticket, in its third year, is having an effect on seat belt usage. The third is that Operation Click It or Ticket happened one week after a major operation for the Georgia State Patrol called STRAP 'N SNAP. This operation was well covered by the media, and may have persuaded individuals to begin buckling their seat belt. The table below contains the information for each roadblock.

The DeKalb County Commercial Vehicle Inspections Unit assisted at the Lithonia roadblock. They conducted 9 truck inspections, and took 6 of these trucks out of service.

The saturation patrol by the STAR Team produced the following results.

Total citations for Operation Click It or Ticket and saturation patrol is 856. Last year the citation total was 849.

 The STAR Team would like to thank all those that participated in the 1997 Operation Click It or Ticket. Without the help of everyone involved, Operation Click It or Ticket would not occur. It is a definite fact that the STAR Team, with only 6 officers, would not be able to conduct Operation Click It or Ticket by ourselves. Your help is very much appreciated.

As it stands right now, Operation Click It or Ticket will have to be re-evaluated. This is due to the Georgia State Patrol's STRAP 'N SNAP. It would be impossible for the DeKalb County Police Department to allocate the manpower and other resources to both programs. Operation Click It or Ticket is done four times a year. The first is on Valentines Day in February. The second is during Buckle Up America Week, which is the third week of May. The third is the week before Labor Day weekend. The last one is done the first week of December, which is for 3D month. It is my understanding STRAP 'N SNAP will be conducted four times a year as well, and will not be near the holiday enforcement periods. Either we will continue Operation Click It or Ticket in its current format, or we may join STRAP 'N SNAP. This decision would be easier if I knew exactly when STRAP 'N SNAP would take place. Everyone involved will need to be consulted in order to make this decision.

The true test of the success of Operation Click It or Ticket and the saturation patrol of the STAR Team during the Labor Day weekend is the number of traffic fatalities. As of the time of this writing, there were two traffic fatalities in unincorporated DeKalb County during this time period. Both were on secondary streets, while the STAR Team concentrated it patrol on the expressways. Both traffic fatalities were also pedestrians that were struck by motor vehicles.