GM and OnStar aim to help buckle up America

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ‘Click it or Ticket’ public safety campaign opens this year amid the first increase in fatalities in five years for unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants.    
General Motors and OnStar are joining in the effort to get people to buckle up whenever they’re in a vehicle.
According to NHTSA, wearing a seat belt is the single most effective way to reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. The Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization aims to continue to help raise the national seat belt use rate beyond the estimated 87 percent in 2013.
In support of the Click it or Ticket campaign, GM is announcing plans to launch a new Belt Assurance System on select fleet vehicles later this year. This belt assurance system was developed by GM to help ensure the driver and right front passenger are belted prior to the vehicle being driven. This system does not allow shifting from “park” until the driver and right front seat belts are buckled.
“Customer safety is on the forefront of everything we do. It is essential for the safety of our customers’ and all drivers’ safety to develop the habit of buckling up each and every time they get into their vehicles,” said Jeff Boyer, vice president, GM global vehicle safety. “We continue to support this program by NHTSA to remind our drivers to buckle up each time they start their vehicles while also developing other safety features like our Belt Assurance System.”
According to NHTSA, seat belts saved an estimated 12,174 people from dying in 2012. From 2008 – 2012 seat belts saved nearly 63,000 lives.
OnStar will be supporting the effort by reminding subscribers who press the blue OnStar button for non-emergency requests to “Remember to stay buckled up.” The reminder will take place throughout the duration of NHTSA’s Click it or Ticket campaign today through June 1.
General Motors applauds the efforts of law enforcement officers and safety officials who are mobilizing across the nation May 19 through June 1 to enforce safety belt use laws in order to save lives and prevent injuries, Boyer said.
Source: GM