As part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s annual campaign to encourage buckling up, the Manhattan Beach Police Department on Wednesday announced that its officers will be cracking down on drivers and passengers who don’t wear their seat belts.
“As we kick-off the busy summer driving season it’s important that everyone buckles up every time they go out, both day and night – no excuses,” MBPD Sgt. Chris Vargas said. “Our officers are prepared to ticket anyone who is not wearing their seat belt – Click It or Ticket.”
The “Click it or Ticket” campaign, which runs from May 20 to June 2, aims to reduce seat belt fatalities nationwide and highlights the fact that one in five Americans fail to wear their seat belts regularly. Since the campaign debuted in California in 2005, seat belt use statewide has increased from 92.5 percent in 2005 to a record high of 96.6 percent in 2011 — a difference of more than 1.5 million riders, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety (COTS).
According to NHTSA, more than half of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 were not buckled up at the time of the crash. During overnight hours, these fatalities are greater: 62 percent of some 10,000 drivers or passengers killed in 2011 were not buckled up when they crashed.
“Seat belts save thousands of lives every year, but far too many motorists are still not buckling up, especially at night when the risk of getting in a crash is even greater,” COTS Director Christopher J. Murphy said in a statement. “We want everyone to have a safe summer, but it requires an important step on the part of motorists – clicking that seat belt.”
According to the Office of Traffic Safety, the minimum cost of an adult seat belt violation in California is $142. The minimum cost of not properly restraining a child under 16 is $445.
