May 2, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Max Schad
805-756-6682

Buckle Up for ‘Click it or Ticket’ 2008

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly University Police is participating in this year’s annual “Click it or Ticket” seat belt safety campaign May 12 to June 1.

UPD staff will monitor the number of on-campus drivers who don’t wear seat belts May 4-11. During the campaign period, May 12 to June 1, officers will write tickets to drivers not wearing seat belts. UPD will again monitor on-campus drivers June 2-9, to determine if seat belt use rates increase.

Other law enforcement agencies in the county, including the San Luis Obispo City Police Department and the California Highway Patrol, are also participating in the campaign. UPD participates each year thanks to an annual grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

California currently has the fourth highest seat belt use rate in the nation. The 2007 Click It or Ticket campaign resulted in an increase in the state’s seat belt use rate from 93.4 percent to 94.6 percent. Since the campaign first began in California in 2005, nearly a million more motor vehicle occupants are buckling up. 

California’s 2007 teen seat belt use rate was 88.9 percent, well below the state rate of 93.4 percent, and down from 90.8 percent in to 2006.

California has a primary seat belt law which requires that every passenger in the car, including the driver, is required to wear a seat belt at all times. If stopped and found to be in violation, law enforcement will issue citations with out warning.

Tickets for seat belt violations range from $80-$91 for adults. Parents with children under the age of 6, not properly secured in a vehicle, can receive one ‘point count’ on their driving record with a fine of $330 to $401 for a first offense and $795 to $971 for a second offense. 

“These amounts pale in comparison to the costs to society for each death or injury that could prevented by wearing a seat belt,” says University Police Chief Bill Watton. 

For more details about the “Click it or Ticket” campaign or Vehicle Restraint Laws, contact The University Police Department, Officer, Max Schad at 756-5562.

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