SALT LAKE CITY -- On Monday, A father spoke about how seat belts saved his family from a potentially fatal accident last January.
Justin Harding’s story was part of Utah Highway Patrol’s kickoff event outside the David P. Gardner Hall at the University of Utah for its “Click It or Ticket” campaign.
Harding, chief-of-staff for Gov. Gary Herbert, said he was driving his family to Gardner Hall when a driver in front of him became impatient in traffic and made U-turn in front of him, causing an accident.
UHP troopers say seat belts protected the Harding family.
UHP says recent crashes when people weren't wearing seat belts had different consequences.
"I think about it a couple of weeks ago when we had that rollover on I-70, a family similar to the Harding family, the five of them are dead, because they were ejected from the vehicle,” Col. Daniel Fuhr, superintendent with UHP said Monday. “The teenagers driving back from St. George yesterday morning, one of them is dead, because they were ejected from the vehicle.”
As part of the Click It or Ticket campaign, 1,000 extra officers will be on Utah roadways for the next two weeks.
