Published on Monday, May 21, 2007
in the WESH News

Police Begin Seat Belt Crackdown

Law enforcement agencies across Central Florida are warning drivers on Monday that they'll be watching for seat belt violators.

Officials said drivers and passengers should make sure seat belts are buckled before leaving a parking space or hitting the roads, WESH 2 News reported.

Monday marked the first day of the two-week Click it or Ticket campaign.

Authorities said they will be patrolling for seat belt violations during the day and night.

Last year, during the special two-week Click it or Ticket seat belt use campaign, Florida troopers like Crpl. Sandy Mandell of the Florida Highway Patrol wrote 37,000 tickets statewide to motorists who weren't buckled up.

"I can't tell you how many crashes I've been to that have resulted in either serious injuries or fatalities if the person had just had a seat belt on, they probably would not have even gone to the hospital," Mandell said.

In 2000, Florida joined nine other states in kicking off the first Click it or Ticket campaign meant to increase safety awareness as well as increase seat belt use around one of the worst holiday's for traffic crashes of the year-- Memorial Day.

"It's important to do these as often as we are to keep it in the public awareness that you need to wear your seat belt," Mandell said.

The campaign runs through June 3