By Khalida Sarwari
Traffic safety statistics show half of the 22,187 people who were killed in car crashes across the country in 2010 were not wearing seat belts. Meanwhile, seat belts appear to have saved an estimated 12,546 lives that year. In California, estimates are that more than 1,300 lives were saved by seat belts and another 110 could have been saved if seat belts had been used.
From May 21 to June 3, law enforcement agencies in Santa Clara County will participate in the “Click it or Ticket” campaign to crack down on those not properly buckled in.
Extra patrol officers from the Campbell and Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police departments and deputies from the sheriff’s office will be out on the streets enforcing seat belt laws around the clock.
“Our officers will be actively looking for seat belt violations, both with passengers and drivers,” said Capt. Charley Adams, a spokesman for the Campbell Police Department. “The push for the campaign is to reinforce people’s behavior to wear seat belts.”
Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate that nighttime passenger vehicle occupants are among those least likely to buckle up and most likely to die in crashes. In 2010 nationally, 61 percent of the 10,647 vehicle passengers killed overnight were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, compared to 42 percent during the daytime.
“Too many drivers and passengers on the road at night are not wearing their seat belts, and it all too often ends in tragedy,” said Sgt. Steve Walpole of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
Officers in Campbell will issue $20 citations to first-time violators, Adams said. The violation may also appear on drivers’ driving records.
The cost of a seat belt ticket is at least $159 for first-time offenders, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. The cost of failing to properly buckle up any child under the age of 16 is at least $479 per child for a first offense in addition to a violation point added to their driver record, and $1,079 or more for a second offense. Drivers found to be in violation of both the seat belt and hands-free or no texting law can be cited for both infractions and with a combined ticket cost of $318 or more.
Campbell police will be looking for drivers who are not wearing their seat belts
