Police to look for seat belt offenders this month

Law enforcement throughout the Canyon Lake region will be looking for drivers and passengers who don’t buckle up during the “Click It or Ticket” seat belt campaign this month, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. It will be on the lookout both during the day and at night for drivers and passengers, including passengers in the back seat.

“It only takes two seconds to buckle up. Two seconds! And those two seconds could literally save your life,” Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Ramie Wood said. “They will also keep you from getting a ticket and paying a fine.”

Using seat belts and child safety seats is the number one best thing a person can do to survive a crash, he said.

“Click It or Ticket” debuted in California in 2005, and since then the state’s seat belt use rate has increased from 92.5% in 2005 to 95.9% in 2018. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association estimates that nearly 15,000 lives nationwide were saved in 2017 because occupants in traffic accidents were wearing seat belts. Conversely, during this same timeframe, almost half of those who died in automobile accidents were not wearing seat belts.

“So, when you load up the family for a road trip, a trek across town or just driving to school or work, please do so safely – every trip, every time, day and night,” Sergeant Wood said. “Don’t put your own life at risk, or the life of your family or friends. Buckle up.”

Not wearing seat belts not only is proven to save lives, it can be expensive should drivers be cited. The cost of an adult seat belt violation is $162. The fine for not properly restraining a child under the age of 16 is $490. The parent, if he or she is in the car, receives the citation. Otherwise, the driver gets the ticket.

Sergeant Wood said myths about not wearing seat belts continue to prevail. For example, he said pickup trucks, seating position and rural areas are not ways to be protected in lieu of wearing seat belts.

“There seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in pickup trucks that their large vehicles will protect them more than other vehicles in crashes,” he said. “But the numbers say otherwise. In 2017, 62% of pickup truck occupants who were killed were not buckled up. That’s compared to 42% of passenger car occupants who were killed while not wearing their seat belts.”

Regardless of vehicle type, seat belt use is the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash, he said.

“Too many people wrongly believe they are safe in the back seat unrestrained,” Sergeant Wood said. “46% of all front-seat occupants killed in crashes in 2017 were unrestrained, but 56% of those killed in back seats were unrestrained.”

He also said he wants to put the “rural versus urban” myth to rest.

“People who live in rural areas might believe that their crash exposure is lower,” Sergeant Wood said, “but in 2016, there were 18,590 crash fatalities in rural locations, compared to 17,656 crash fatalities in urban locations. Out of those fatalities, 49% of those killed in rural locations were not wearing their seat belts, compared to 46% in urban locations.”