Police to Crack Down on Seat Belt Scofflaws

Buckle up: The West Hollywood Sheriff's Station Traffic Unit, in tandem with other law-enforcement agencies throughout California, is planning a seat belt crackdown from May 23 to June 5. The mobilization is part of a spring effort to raise awareness about the ongoing Click It or Ticket campaign.

Adults who are caught not wearing a seat belt face a minimum $142 fee for their first offense. The first-time fine is $445 for children under 16. The penalties apply to both unbelted drivers and passengers.

The mobilization will involve more than 140 local law enforcement agencies in California.

According to police, the Click It or Ticket campaign has increased adult seat belt usage from 92.5 percent in 2005 to 96.2 percent last year, an all-time high. They say that, due to the effort, more than 12,700 lives were saved across the United States in 2009.

“We are very proud of California’s seat belt and child safety seat use rates,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “However, with nearly 1 million motorists still not buckling up, there is much more work to do. Reaching the last 4 percent of motorists is crucial to reaching our goal of zero deaths.”

The state's Click It or Ticket campaign is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.