Motorists driving without a seat belt may want to think twice before hitting the road.
Glendale Police Department officers will be out in force patrolling the streets this month for people not wearing seat belts while inside a moving vehicle.
Using a $28,757 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, the Police Department’s enforcement effort is part of the state’s Click it or Ticket campaign.
Seat belt use throughout the state was 95.2% in 2009. Still, public safety officials are pushing to increase that rate.
Glendale police officers will focus on teens because they don’t wear seat belts as regularly as adults, according to the Police Department. And teens are involved in more crashes.
Wearing a seat belt can increase the chance of surviving a crash by 50%, authorities say.
First-time offenders are fined $132, and motorists who fail to properly buckle children younger than 16 are fined $435 on the first offense.
