TDS helps kick off Click it or Ticket in Houston

The annual Click it or Ticket campaign started this week in Houston, and Teens in the Driver Seat was there to help send an urgent message to young drivers and their passengers everywhere. That message is—If you’re a teenager in a car, you should get ready to be the center of attention! Texas state troopers and your local police and sheriff’s departments will be keeping an extra close eye on you.

Click it or Ticket has been an important safety program by the Texas Department of Transportation for nearly 10 years, but this is the first year that teen drivers and passengers are a really big deal. And that’s important, for lots of reasons.

• More than half of the young drivers killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts when they crashed.
• Car crashes kill more young people than any other cause.
• Only one out of every five teens thinks that not wearing a safety belt is risky, and most of them admit that most of the time, they don’t buckle up.

Representing the Channelview High School TDS Program, Kellie Dennison and Kayla Mizell spoke to television reporters at the Click it or Ticket press conference and talked about why TDS is important to them and how the program can help save lives with important messages about buckling up. Channelview is the first high school in the entire Houston area to start a TDS program.

At the press conference, state trooper John Sampa reminded teens that they had extra reasons to buckle up this year. Troopers will be handing out McDonald’s free food coupons to young drivers and passengers who are wearing seat belts. Also, you can download free music just by watching a 2-minute safety belt video at www.clickitorticketmusic.com.

Free food…free music…not to mention staying safe. That’s a lot of good reasons to click it!