North Olympic Peninsula law enforcement officers wrote 84 tickets for seat belt infractions during special patrols from May 19 to June 1, according to the state Traffic Safety Commission.
Extra law enforcement patrols took place in Clallam and Jefferson counties looking for unbuckled drivers and passengers, as well as cellphone use, both texters and talkers, while driving.
During these patrols, 44 seat belt infractions were written in Jefferson County and 40 in Clallam County.
Seven cellphone/texting tickets were issued in Jefferson County, while none was written in Clallam County.
Jefferson County officers also wrote tickets for four speeding violations, one uninsured motorist and one suspended/revoked license violation.
In Clallam County, there were one felony arrest and one misdemeanor warrant arrest.
Officers wrote tickets for 21 speeding violations, four child passenger safety infractions, five uninsured motorists and three suspended and non-valid license violations.
Last year, in Clallam County during this time period, officers on extra patrols wrote two seat belt infractions.
Jefferson County did not participate last year, according to the commission.
Statewide, during the same time period last year, officers on extra patrols issued 2,963 seat belt violation tickets and 1,897 cellphone and texting violation tickets. They stopped 11,666 motorists.
Participating on the Peninsula this year were the Clallam and Jefferson sheriff’s offices, the Sequim and Port Townsend police departments and the State Patrol, with support from the Clallam County DUI Target Zero Task Force, Jefferson County Traffic Safety Task Force and a grant from the state Traffic Safety Commission.
These and all extra patrols are part of Target Zero, a project that aims to end traffic deaths and serious injuries in the state by 2030.
For more information, visit www.targetzero.com or the Traffic Safety Commission website, www.wtsc.wa.gov.