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CHP Increases Enforcement of California Seat Belt Enforcement to Reduce Deadly Auto Accidents.

California Highway Patrol's officers are executing a campaign to drive home the fact that seat belts are the ultimate lifesavers during motor vehicle collisions. The CHP plans to spotlight stories of those who do not buckle up when they are riding in a automobile.

CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow commented on the CHP's website article as saying "The goal of this campaign is to stress that seat belts save lives. More than 30 percent of all vehicle passengers killed statewide in 2007 and 2008 were not buckled up at the time of the collision. We hope people will learn from it and take the extra seconds to put on their seat belt or properly restrain their child. There's no do over for someone killed because they failed to buckle up."

The Office of Traffic Safety has provided grant-funded overtime specifically to CHP officers who will be patrolling the roads to find drivers or passengers who are in violation of the seat belt laws or child safety restraint laws. It seems that for all of their advocacy, they're doing quite well, as they report that seat belt usage by California motorists is currently at a record high of 95.7 percent. But it's still not at 100 percent, and the primary goal right now is to raise the number even higher, which cannot be accomplished without the help of the public.

In 2008, 204,187 citations were issued to drivers and passengers who had not fastened their seat belts while operating their motor vehicle. California law requires children younger than age 6 or weighing less than 60 pounds to be properly secured in the back seat. The CHP offers free child safety seat inspections and installation at CHP office throughout the state. Commissioner Farrow reminds us that "we all need reminders. We all get a little careless sometimes, but in this case, carelessness can be deadly." Which is quite true, as San Diego County has seen a great number of deadly car accidents in the area, many of which could have been avoided or saved lives had seat belts been involved.

So while it's been almost two months since "Vehicle Occupant Restraint Day" was passed on March 31, 2009, you may still see plenty of "Click It or Ticket" signs along roads and freeways in San Diego in an effort to bring down the amount of fatal car accidents. The reminder could save you the rest of your life.


The Jurewitz Law Group is located in San Diego, has offices in Carlsbad, California, and serves all of San Diego County including the following cities and towns:

San Diego, Chula Vista, Escondido, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, El Cajon, Carlsbad, Poway, Encinitas, La Mesa, Santee, National City, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Coronado.

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