Special patrols to focus on seat belt use

Published 12:01 am Friday, May 25, 2012

North Olympic Peninsula officers are conducting special patrols focused on the correct use of seat belts and child safety seats during the Memorial Day weekend.

The extra patrols are part of the national Click It or Ticket program.

Participating agencies include the State Patrol, the Clallam and Jefferson County sheriff’s offices and the Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend police departments

Patrols are being coordinated by the Clallam County Target Zero Task Force and the Jefferson County Traffic Safety Task Force.

Failure to wear a seat belt properly or to have children younger than the age of 16 properly secured in an approved infant or child safety seat can result in a $124 fine for each violation.

The driver of the vehicle is responsible for everyone younger than the age of 16 riding in the vehicle, while those older than 16 are held responsible for themselves.

Other participating Target Zero Task Forces in the Olympic region will include Grays Harbor County, Kitsap County, Mason County and Pacific County in a special regional effort to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries during the Memorial Day weekend.

In June 2002, when the primary seat belt law went into effect, about 82 percent of Washington drivers wore seat belts, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

Now, that use has increased to 97.5 percent, the commission said.

The commission estimates that during the past 10 years, nearly 1,010 lives were saved by the increased use of seat belts.

After the adoption of the Click It or Ticket program, the number of traffic deaths statewide dropped from 658 in 2002 to 455 in 2011, according to the commission’s preliminary data.