Thanksgiving is a holiday when Americans gather with family and friends, and in recent years it has been one of the busiest times for travel on our roadways. The Cincinnati Police Department urges motorists to drive carefully, not to drive impaired, and to buckle up for each and every trip, night or day.

Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and to reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Research has shown that when lap and shoulder belts are used properly, the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers is reduced by 45 per cent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury is reduced by 50 per cent. Sadly, one in five Americans still fails to buckle up regularly.

Nationally, during the 2006 Thanksgiving holiday period, 457 passenger vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of these fatalities, 188 occurred during daylight hours and 266 during night time. Time of occurrence was unknown for three deaths.

Night time is one of the more dangerous times on the road, because seat belt use is lower. Of the 266 night time deaths in 2006, more than half (138) died with their seat belts unfastened. For the daytime fatalities, 44 per cent were not using safety restraints.

“It is a terrible thing to lose a loved one,” said Lieutenant Robert Hungler of the Traffic Unit. “To suffer such a loss during America’s family holiday, when taking two seconds to buckle a seat belt could have prevented it, is truly senseless.”

Those who fail to buckle up risk getting a ticket and worse – getting injured or killed. Lieutenant Hungler advises, “Make sure the only belt you unbuckle is at your Thanksgiving dinner table and not in your vehicle.”