“Click it or Ticket” Seat Belt Safety Campaign Runs Through Memorial Day

The Pasadena Police Department is reminding everyone taking a trip to  visit friends or family over the Memorial Day weekend to buckle up and keep  children in child safety seats. 

This year’s Click it or Ticket campaign is from May 23-June 5. 

During this time, the  Pasadena Police Department will have additional officers on patrol actively looking for  drivers and passengers who are not wearing a seat belt. This includes vehicles where  children are not secured in child safety seats. 

“Wearing a seat belt should be an automatic for all drivers and passengers,” Pasadena  Police Department Lieutenant Sam de Sylva said. “It’s the safe thing to do, especially  when it comes to securing children in child safety seats.” 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 10,893 people  killed in crashes throughout the country in 2020 were not wearing seat belts. In California,  756 people killed in crashes in 2020 were not wearing seat belts, or nearly 20 percent of  all traffic deaths in the state. 

California law requires a child to be secured in a safety or booster seat until they are at  least 8 or at least 4 feet, 9 inches tall. Children under the age of 2 must ride in a rear facing seat unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. 

California has a primary seat belt law, which allows law enforcement officers to ticket  someone for not wearing a seat belt without committing another traffic violation. 

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic  Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.