Mon, Jul 06, 2009

Tucson Region

Seat-belt-use crackdown is under way

arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.19.2006
The Tucson Police Department, along with law enforcement agencies nationwide, is cracking down on people who don't wear their seat belts.
In the last six months, 840 seat-belt violation citations have been issued in Tucson, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman. There have also been 224 citations written for child-restraint violations.
The Click It or Ticket campaign, which encourages motorists to buckle up to avoid serious injury or death in the event of a collision, began Monday in Tucson and will end June 3, said Sgt. Mary K. Slyter of the Tucson police motorcycle unit.
"Minor traffic collisions become more if the person hits the windshield or the dashboard, but it wouldn't have occurred if they had been wearing a seat belt," she said.
Fines for seat-belt and child-restraint violations range from $41 to $113.
Officers cannot make a traffic stop based solely on a person's not wearing a seat belt, Slyter said. Officers must see a primary traffic violation before making the stop, which includes not having a child under the age of 5 in a car seat.