jjohnson@HanfordSentinel.com

Police officers across California will be buckling down on seatbelt usage starting Monday as part of the statewide "Click it or Ticket" campaign to increase traffic safety awareness. The campaign runs through June 1.

"Our goal is to increase safety belt enforcement from the statewide rating of 94.6 percent to 95 percent," said Lt. Parker Sever with the Hanford Police Department. "That doesn't sound like much, but when you consider this is a statewide campaign, the numbers really add up."

Officers in Hanford will be out on the streets looking for seatbelt violators day and night, while several enforcement operations will be conducted to increase the number of patrols looking for offenders.

"We'll be looking for people wearing the belt under their arms, sitting on their lap restraints, wearing it incorrectly, or just not wearing it at all," Sever said. "We'll also be looking closely for child safety seat violations."

Corcoran Police Chief Reuben Shortnacy said that his department will also be on the lookout for teens and children riding without being properly restrained.

"We want to make sure that all drivers and passengers buckle up on every ride, day and night," Shortnacy said.

Tickets for seatbelt violations in California can cost anywhere between $80 and $91 for adults and more than $330 for children under the age of 16.

In California, 64 percent of all people killed in fatal traffic collisions were found to not be wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, according to a study conducted by the UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center.

"We're doing well with nearly 95 percent buckling up, fourth highest in the nation," said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. "That's 1.5 million more people protected from death and injury by using seatbelts since the Click it or Ticket campaign started in 2005. But we can do better yet.

"I urge everyone to always buckle up."

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(May 11, 2007)