Contact:
John Pilger
Adam Levermore-Rich
(408) 730-7535
May 9, 2008
Release # 05 05 08

sunnyvale public safety cracking down on buckling up

“Click It or Ticket” Aims to boost seat Belt Use

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) will be aggressively enforcing the state’s seat belt law as part of California’s 2008 Click It or Ticket effort, taking place May 12 – June 1. The campaign relies on heavy enforcement and public education to help California achieve the highest seat belt use rate in the nation. California currently has the nation’s fourth-highest seat belt use rate at 94.6 percent.

California’s primary seat belt law requires every passenger in the car, including the driver, to wear a seat belt at all times. If drivers are stopped and they or their passengers are found to be in violation, DPS officers will issue citations without a warning. Tickets for first seat belt violations range from $80 to $91 for adults and $330 to $401 for children under age 16.

According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, 1.5 million people have been protected from death and injury by using seatbelts since the Click It or Ticket campaign started in 2005.

While the buckle-up rate for adults has continued to climb in recent years, California’s teen seat belt use rate lags behind the general population. In 2007, California’s teen seat belt use rate was 88.9 percent, well below the overall state rate of 94.6 percent for the same year.

Sunnyvale is one of more than 280 law enforcement agencies statewide participating in this year’s Click It or Ticket effort. Funding for officer overtime required to support California’s Click It or Ticket campaign was provided by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through the California Office of Traffic Safety.