The Morgan Hill Police Department this week reminded travelers to always buckle up and secure children in the right car seats when visiting friends and family.
This year’s Click It or Ticket campaign runs from May 12-June 1, MHPD said in a press release. During this time, MHPD 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 or the right safety seats for their age.
“Wearing a seat belt should be automatic for all drivers and passengers every trip,” Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Scott Purvis said. “Seat belts save lives, and everyone—front seat and back, child and adult—needs to remember always to buckle up.”
Nationwide, 11,302 people killed in crashes in 2022 were not wearing seat belts, according to a UC Berkeley study. In California, 842 people killed in crashes in 2022 were not wearing seat belts, a decrease of 8.4% from 2021.
California law requires all children younger than 2 to ride in a rear-facing car seat, unless the child is 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. Once a child reaches these milestones, all children younger than 8 are still required to be secured in a car seat or booster seat.
Children younger than the age of 8 may not ride in the front seat unless the vehicle is not equipped with a rear, forward-facing seat, says the press release from MHPD. Children 8 and older, or who are at least 4-feet 9-inches tall, may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be wearing a properly fitted safety belt.
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to keep children in the proper rear or forward-facing seat as long as possible and use the “Five-Step Test” to determine if their child is big enough to safely use a seat belt without a booster seat.
How effective is Click It or Ticket in increasing seat belt use? I believe stricter patrols save lives but ongoing education is key too.