The South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) with partner, Chick-fil-A restaurants, today kicked off its Buckle Up, South Carolina! and Click’n  4 Chicken safety belt campaigns as law enforcement
prepares for the busy summer travel season.   The department is teaming up with Chick-fil-A restaurants throughout South Carolina to bring attention to the importance of wearing safety belts. If troopers spot motorists buckled up, they can give them a coupon for a free grilled chicken sandwich or frozen lemonade.
As a partner and safety advocate for the Click’n 4 Chicken initiative, 70-plus Chick-fil-A restaurants statewide have provided 55,000 coupons to be distributed by troopers at safety events and while they are on routine patrol. However, troopers will not make a traffic stop for the purpose of giving motorists a coupon.
“We are grateful to Chick-fil-A for being proactive community partners and helping us encourage others to follow the law,” said SCDPS Director Leroy Smith. “It’s a fun way to kick off summer and bring attention to a simple act that could prevent hundreds of fatalities each year on our roadways.”
From May 13 until Labor Day, SCDPS and local law enforcement agencies will step up enforcement of South Carolina’s primary seat belt law as part of the Buckle Up, South Carolina. It’s the law and it’s enforced (BUSC) mobilization. This campaign takes place each year to remind motorists of the importance of buckling up as the roadways become more congested with summer travel. The enforcement period will last from May 18 to May 31.
Al Thompson, franchise Operator of the Magwood Chick-fil-A restaurant in Charleston, led a similar campaign several years ago. Thompson said he witnessed motorists coming through the drive-thru unbuckled and that they often had child passengers unbuckled as well. He reached out to the Highway Patrol, and they distributed coupons for free chicken sandwiches to bring awareness to the importance of safety belts.
“The Click’n for Chicken initiative furthers Chick-fil-A’s commitment to having a positive impact on our local communities,” Thompson said. “We are looking forward to helping the South Carolina Department of Public Safety encourage seatbelt usage among drivers and passengers and want to help save as many lives as we can!”
SCDPS join regional and national partners in promoting safety belt use this time of year. The goals of the campaign are: to increase safety belt usage; to see a decrease in traffic fatalities and serious injuries; and promote a greater awareness about the role safety belts play in keeping motorists safe on the road. This effort is part of the department’s Target Zero umbrella, which guides all enforcement and education activities at SCDPS, and represents a long-term strategy to reduce and eliminate traffic fatalities in South Carolina.
“Our goal is not just to issue tickets but to positively impact driving habits and behaviors,” said Highway Patrol Col. Mike Oliver. “We hope this positive interaction with a trooper will be a reminder to buckle up and ensure friends and family do the same.”
For three years in a row, South Carolina has experienced over a 90 percent safety belt compliance rate, but the number of unbelted fatalities remains high. As of May 12 this year, there have been 306  highway fatalities compared to 267 on the same date in 2014; 109 of the 224 people with access to safety belts died unrestrained.
The SC Department of Transportation will support the BUSC campaign by allowing its variable message boards to display “Buckle Up. It’s The Law.”