'Click-It or Ticket' Seat Belt Enforcement Is Underway

The “Click-It or Ticket” campaign is underway, running through June 1, and the California Highway Patrol is joining law enforcement agencies across the nation in a national seat belt education and enforcement mobilization with one goal in mind: Save Lives.

Even with a seatbelt usage rate of 97.4 percent, California still has 800,000 or more who aren’t buckling up.  

In a crash, they stand a 50 percent greater chance of being killed than those who have taken the two seconds to buckle in.  

Seat belts are proven to save lives! In 2012, seat belts saved an estimated 12,174 people from dying nationwide. 

NHTSA estimates that approximately 1,243 individuals were saved in California during that same time period. 

Unfortunately, for the first time in five years, fatal collisions involving unrestrained vehicle occupants have gone up. Over 10,335 people were killed in traffic collisions not utilizing their seat belt.  

Last year during Memorial Day weekend, 15 people were killed in CHP jurisdiction, six without seat belts (40 percent of the total vehicle occupants). Too many motorists are dying in traffic collisions, and many of those deaths are preventable.

The minimum cost of an adult seat belt violation in California is $142, and up to $445 for not properly restraining a child under age 16. 

Also, failing to properly restrain a child in the car will earn you a point on your driving record! Avoiding the fine should not be the only reason you put on your seat belt.  Your life and the life of your fellow vehicle occupants are precious. Take responsibility for your safety and buckle up!

—Information provided in part by the California Highway Patrol