|
Home Search |
Published on Monday, May 24, 2004
in the Palm Beach Post
Law enforcers vow to ticket travelers who don't buckle up.
Today through June 6, there will be zero tolerance for drivers who don't use their seat belts as part of Buckle Up Florida's "Click It or Ticket," an initiative with a single goal.
"Seat belts save lives," says Palm Beach County Sheriff Ed Bieluch.
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States and seat belts are the best protection in car crashes, law-enforcement officials say.
Those who do not buckle up account for 60 percent of deaths on the roads. More than half of adults and six of 10 children who die in crashes are unrestrained. Nearly half of these people would be alive today if they had just buckled up, safety officials say.
If those statistics doesn't scare travelers into using seat belts, law enforcement officials hope the threat of a ticket will persuade them.
Tickets from the sheriff's office run $47 per adult, $81 per child younger than 16, sheriff's spokeswoman Diane Carhart said.
Under Florida law, officers cannot pull drivers over just for not having a seat belt on, but they will issue seat-belt tickets to anyone pulled over for other violations who is unrestrained.
"When we say zero tolerance," Carhart said, "we mean zero tolerance."
Drivers and front-seat passengers must wear seat belts and rear-seat passengers children 15 and younger must be restrained, although law enforcement officials recommend everyone buckle up.
The Click It or Ticket safety belt enforcement wave is part of a nationwide effort. More than 13,000 law enforcement agencies will be looking for those who do not buckle up.
Deputies will be in both high- and low-traffic areas, trying to make the point that all driving trips, no matter how short, can result in a crash with serious injuries to those who are not restrained.
Florida's seat belt use rate is 73 percent; the national rate is 79 percent.
"The statistics show things can happen to you within a few miles of your home," Martin County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Sgt. Jenell Atlas said.