Glendale ranked third in the state in the amount of money received.
“We still have 1.5 million people who haven’t buckled up yet,” he said. “We use this as a twice-a-year time to remind them to do so, and if they don’t, they get a hefty ticket out of it.”
The grants pay for seat belt enforcement efforts during the last two weeks in November and May, Cochran said.
First-time offenders are fined $142 for not wearing seat belts, he said. Motorists who fail to properly buckle children younger than 16 will be fined $360 on the first offense.
The fine doubles on the second offense.
Nearly 96% of Californians comply with seat belt laws, state officials said.
People who are not wearing seat belts are often ejected from crashes or vehicle rollovers and are 35 times more likely to die, according to the state Office of Traffic Safety.
Wearing a seat belt avoids serious injury, Glendale Police Sgt. Peter Pressnall said.
During a field survey of seat belt compliance Thursday at Monterey Road and Jackson Street, Pressnall said 10% of the 100 cars observed had occupants who weren’t buckled up.
The bureau typically conducts roving and stationary patrols for seat belt violations. This year, they will conduct nighttime seat belt checks, Pressnall said.
The bureau averages two or three citations per hour during the checks, he said.
Burbank police’s traffic bureau generally conducts a roving patrol when they check for seat belt violations, Officer Jonathan Cheng said.
Eight out of 100 people that Cheng observed in a survey conducted Thursday were not wearing their seat belts, he said.
Most of the excuses he said he hears involve being in a hurry or driving a short distance.
