Click It or Ticket

Big Bear, Ca, November 22, 2011, 3:00pm – The California Highway Patrol is participating in the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign now through November 27^th.  During this time, law enforcement throughout the state and the Big Bear Valley will be actively looking for drivers and passengers who are unbuckled.  The Click It or Ticket program, which started in 2005, has a successful track record, and has seen an increased usage in seatbelts from a 90.4% in 2001, to a record high of 96.02 % in 2010.  The increase represents more than 1.25 million more vehicle occupants who buckle up.  Buckling your seatbelt is important for the safety of you and other passengers in your vehicle.  According to the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, in 2009 there were 544 vehicle passengers killed who were not wearing a seat belt of using a child safety seat, and more than 9,400 others were injured due to not buckling up.  Last year CHP officers issued more than 155,000 citations to drivers and passengers who failed to buckle up.  The minimum cost of an adult seat belt violation is $142, and can go up to $445 for not properly restraining a child under 16 years of age.  So do the smart thing, avoid unnecessary tickets, and buckle up.