This little girl is all smiles over seat belts because she understands the importance of buckling up.
8:35am | Whether driving or riding, if you’re in a moving vehicle, the state of California mandates that you wear a seat belt.
It is with this state law in mind that law enforcement agencies throughout California, including the Long Beach Police Department, are kicking off another crackdown on those who fail to buckle up during the 2011 Click It or Ticket campaign, which began Monday and is set to run through June 5.
LBPD spokeswoman Lisa Massacani said that fines and fees for first-time adult seat belt violations are a minimum of $142, while children under 16 face a fine of $445 (for which their parents or guardians would be responsible ) for a first-time offense.
According to the LBPD, nighttime travelers are among those least likely to buckle up and are most likely to die in crashes when unrestrained. This has resulted in nighttime safety-belt enforcement becoming a priority of the campaign.
Nationwide, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of those who died in nighttime crashes in 2009 were not wearing seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes, according to information provided by Massacani.
“Many nighttime traffic deaths can be prevented if more motorists simply start wearing their seat belts,” said LBPD Chief Jim McDonnell in a statement. “It’s not just about avoiding a costly ticket; its about keeping your loved ones safe.
“Remember to buckle up on every trip, day and night,” the chief said.
Californians are wearing their seat belts at an all-time high of 96.2 percent of the time, according to the LBPD. The Click It or Ticket campaign is credited with increasing the state’s adult seat belt usage rate, which was 92.5 percent in 2005.
“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, in a statement. “However, with nearly one million motorists still not buckling up, there is much more work to do.
“Reaching the last four percent of motorists is crucial to reaching our goal of zero deaths,” Murphy said,
Massacani said that properly restrained drivers, passengers and children have a 50 percent better chance of surviving a crash than unbelted occupants, while those ejected from vehicles in crashes or roll-overs are up to 35 times more likely to die than restrained occupants.
In 2009 alone, seat belts saved approximately 12,713 lives nationwide. In California, it is estimated that 320 people who were killed in 2009 would be alive today if they had been wearing seat belts, the spokeswoman said.
Some 600 permanent Click It or Ticket highway signs installed statewide in 2005 were recently updated to reflect the “Minimum $142” message as a reminder to motorists.
More than 140 local law enforcement agencies statewide and the California Highway Patrol will be participating in this year’s targeted enforcement, which is being funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Call LBPD Traffic Section Sgt. Douglas Bender at 562-570-7484 for more information.