For Immediate Release       

Sgt. Mike Lee, Public Information Officer

May 8, 2026                 Ph. (386) 243.6326

LCPD: Click It or Ticket to Begin

The Lake City Police Department will join with law enforcement agencies from across the State of 

Florida and the Nation on Wednesday in an increased effort to increase seat belt use. Research by 

the Florida Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has 

shown Memorial Day and the preceding weekend to have one of the highest concentrations of crash 

injuries and fatalities during the year. Often, those injuries are attributed to not wearing a seat 

belt.

LCPD will be actively mobilizing its Traffic unit as well as officers working under the Strategic 

Traffic Enforcement Program. STEP Officers conduct increased targeted traffic enforcement on 

strategic areas of focus using overtime funds provided by FDOT. Traffic Officers are full-time LCPD 

officers assigned to conduct community traffic calming efforts, data-driven enforcement, crash 

investigation, and traffic safety education.

“This is not about writing tickets,” said Chief Gerald Butler, “It is about saving lives. 

Unfortunately, sometimes the thought of a citation is the only thing that makes someone buckle up. 

If that is what it takes, I would rather someone pay a fine than put their lives or the lives of 

others needlessly at risk.”

As the Gateway to Florida, Lake City is often the first city visitors to the state will pass 

through on their way to popular tourist destinations. With its many hotels and restaurants, a large 

number of visitors exit the interstate and drive through town. During the Memorial Day weekend, 

this number is expected to increase significantly.

“It is important that we are highly visible during this time. What we do here can help impact the 

decisions of drivers as they continue elsewhere into the state,” said Butler.

Many opponents of mandatory seat belt laws in Florida express concern that they should be able to 

choose

whether or not to risk their own lives, but Chief Butler also urges them to look at the bigger 

picture.

“Not wearing a seat belt is NOT merely a personal choice,” he said.

If someone is in crash without a seat belt, they are exponentially more likely to be seriously 

hurt. This doesn’t just affect them. It doesn’t just affect their friends and loved ones. It also 

significantly increases the cost of responding to that crash. Unbelted crashes take longer to 

investigate, require more resources to be deployed that could be better used elsewhere, and result 

in higher medical expenses.

Many drivers also do not realize how crash data is collected and analyzed. Crash investigations 

record seat belt use, among many other factors. The rate of unbelted drivers is one of several 

critical components insurance companies use when determining rates for a given community. Higher 

rates of unbelted drivers can raise the insurance costs for everyone else in that area.

The Click It or Ticket campaign will begin May 18 and will run through the end of the month.

Chief of Police Gerald Butler

 225 NW Main Boulevard, Suite 102, Lake City, FL 32055 

• Phone: (386) 758-5484 • Fax: (386) 719-5463 

Proudly Serving the Citizens of Lake City

An Equal Opportunity Employer

www.lcfla.com/police

@LCFlaPD