Belmont Police Urge Drivers to Buckle Up

Beginning Monday, the will launch intensive enforcement of seat belt laws as part of a national “Click It or Ticket” campaign.

A first-time ticket costs -- at a minimum -- $142, and at least $445 for a child under 16, according to the Police Department.

More than 140 local law enforcement agencies as well as the California Highway Patrol are participating in the campaign, which starts Monday and continues through June 5.

Passengers riding in a car at night are among those least likely to buckle up, police say, which makes them the most likely to die in crashes when unrestrained. Nationally, of those killed in nighttime crashes in 2009, 62 percent were not wearing a seat belt.

Due to that fact, Belmont police say they will focus their efforts at night.

“Many nighttime traffic deaths can be prevented if more motorists simply start wearing their seat belts,” Belmont Police Chief Don Mattei said in a statement.

“Law enforcement throughout the area will be looking for seat belt violators, day and night,” he said. And, he added, citations will be issued.

Authorities say California's current seat belt use rate is at an all time high at 96.2 percent, which is due in part to the Click It or Ticket mobilization. The campaign is credited with increasing the state's adult seat belt usage from 92.5 percent in 2005 to 96.2 percent in 2010.

Properly restrained drivers, passengers and children have a 50 percent greater chance of surviving a crash than unbelted occupants, according to the Police Department.

Additionally, those ejected from vehicles in crashes or roll-overs are up to 35 times more likely to die than restrained occupants.

In 2009, seat belts saved approximately 12,713 lives nationwide. In California, it's estimated that 320 people who were killed in 2009 would be alive today if they had been wearing seat belts, police say.

California’s Click It or Ticket campaign is paid for by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.