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Home > News & Columns > Michael P. Neufeld > Click It or Ticket Campaign Ends (Update)

Click It or Ticket Campaign Ends (Update)

Statewide Seat Belt Alert

By Michael P. Neufeld
Monday, June 2, 2008

Update — Monday 3:45 a.m.

The statewide Click It or Ticket campaign ended yesterday but local law enforcement agencies urge drivers in the mountain area to always use their seatbelts.

Numerous citations have been issued by the California Highway Patrol and the Big Bear and Twin Peaks Sheriff's Stations since the campaign was launched earlier this month.

Click It Or Ticket! (Photo by OTS.)

"Despite the fact the official campaign ends June 2," CHP spokesperson Gary Fernandez told RIMOFTHEWORLD.net, "we'll still be looking for drivers and passengers not wearing the restraints."

Original Story

Local law enforcement agencies—including the California Highway Patrol and the Big Bear and Twin Peaks Sheriff's Stations—are now focusing their attention on people who fail to buckle up when riding in a vehicle. The statewide Click It or Ticket mobilization continues through June 2, 2008.

CHP Lieutenant Rick Sanders (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

"Drivers who are found not wearing their seatbelt or breaking the state's child safety seat laws will be ticketed," Running Springs CHP Lieutenant Rick Sanders stated in a prepared release. "We all need to have reminders. By having units out on the road, we want to educate the public and remind them to wear their seat belts."

"We want to make sure that all drivers and passengers buckle up on every ride, day and night," according to Big Bear Captain Gregory Garland. "Our officers will be on the lookout for those who are not buckled up and for teens and children not riding properly restrained. We will not accept excuses or give warnings. It's Click It or Ticket."

While the buckle up rate for adults has continued to climb in recent years, California's teen seat belt use rate lags behind the general population. In 2007, California's seat belt use was 88.9 percent, well below the state rate of 94.6 percent for the same year.

"The goal of this campaign," according to CHP spokesperson Gary Fernandez, "is to stress that seat belts save lives. More than 30 percent of all vehicle passengers killed statewide in 2006 and 2007 were not buckled up at the time of the collision. We hope people will learn from this and take the extra seconds to put on their seat belt or properly restrain their child. There's no do over when it comes to safety."

Fernandez also announced that Wednesday, May 21, the CHP has designated as "Vehicle Occupant Safety Awareness and Education Day."

If stopped and found to be in violation, law enforcement will issue citations without warning. Tickets for first seat belt violations range from $80 to $91 for adults and $330 to $401 for children under the age of 16, depending on the county. Additionally, children age 12 and under are required to ride properly restrained in the back seat.

More than 280 law enforcement agencies statewide are participating in this year's Click It or Ticket mobilization. Additionally, agencies are encouraged to conduct nighttime patrols in an effort to boost compliance at night.

Funding for officer overtime to support California's Click It or Ticket campaign has been provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Traffic Safety Administration.

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