H.S. Drivers Can Click It for Chicken

By Desiree Parker Thursday, June 03, 2010

For the next two days, James City County police are going to remind some local youth about the importance of buckling up when driving – with a giant cow for backup.

Though most cars are equipped with bells and whistles to alert you when you don’t have your seatbelt on, many folks still don’t wear theirs while driving. Though the state had its highest-ever seat belt use rate in 2009, of the 756 residents who died in car accidents 333 weren’t wearing their seat belts.

In James City County in 2008, 37 people were in car accidents and weren’t wearing seatbelts. Of those, six were killed.

County police have been participating in the “Click It or Ticket” program for several years to help enforce the seat belt law, and as an offshoot of that they’ve come up with “Click It for Chicken,” a program that offers rewards for local high school students who wear their seatbelts.

Officers will be visiting three local high schools Thursday and Friday at 2:15 p.m. to watch students as they drive off campus. For those who are wearing seat belts, officers will be passing out coupons for free Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches.

Of course, the Chick-Fil-A cow will be on hand in case the officers need backup.

“This is just reinforcing the idea for them to wear seatbelts,” says county police Major Stephen Rubino.

What happens if they see teens not buckling up when leaving school?

“We’ll just stop them and tell them to put them on,” Rubino says. Those not wearing seatbelts won’t get a free sandwich but - more importantly, Rubino says - they could be putting themselves in harm’s way each time they choose not to buckle up.

Officers will be visiting Warhill High School Thursday afternoon; they’ll head over to Jamestown and Lafayette high schools Friday.

High visibility enforcement such as Click It or Ticket is credited with increasing the national belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to an observed usage rate of 84 percent in 2009. Virginia’s goal in 2010 is to increase usage to 83.7 percent.