SACRAMENTO, Calif. (PSN) — The Sacramento Police Department is reminding motorists to buckle up and properly secure children in safety seats as part of the statewide Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign running from May 18 through May 31.
During the campaign period, additional officers will be assigned to traffic enforcement operations focused on seat belt compliance and child passenger safety violations, according to a media release issued Sunday evening by the department.
Police said officers will be actively looking for drivers and passengers who are not wearing seat belts, including vehicles where children are not properly secured in child safety seats or booster seats appropriate for their age and size.
“Our priority is protecting the people in our community. Wearing a seat belt or properly securing children in car seats or a booster seat gives everyone a better chance of surviving a crash,” Sacramento Police Department Sgt. Anna Mahoney said in the release. “We want every trip — short or long — to end safely, so please buckle up, every time.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 10,484 people killed in crashes nationwide in 2023 were not wearing seat belts. California recorded 780 unrestrained traffic fatalities during that same year, including 24 children. The release also noted that unrestrained child fatalities in California increased by 4.3% from 2022 to 2023.
Under California law, children younger than 2 years old are required to ride in a rear-facing car seat unless they weigh 40 pounds or more or are at least 40 inches tall. Children under the age of 8 must continue to ride in an approved car seat or booster seat, unless specific vehicle limitations apply. Children who are 8 years old or taller than 4 feet 9 inches may use a properly fitted seat belt.
The department is also encouraging parents and caregivers to keep children in rear-facing or forward-facing safety seats as long as possible and to use the “Five-Step Test” to determine when a child can safely transition out of a booster seat.
Funding for the enforcement effort was provided through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.