Click It or Ticket Campaign starts Monday

The national seat belt campaign, Click It or Ticket, means a no excuse approach for those not wearing a seatbelt. The Salinas Police Department will start the extra enforcements today through June 4th, just in time for one of the busiest travel and holiday weekends of the year, Memorial Day.

SPD Sergeant Gerry Ross said he’s seen first-hand how the simple action of fastening your seat belt saves lives.

“I’ll walk up to the car and no one is hurt, because they’re all buckled up. And then I’ll go to a crash where it seems minor but they have a serious head injury because they didn’t buckle up and they hit their head on something,” said Sgt. Gerry Ross.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 545 Californians were killed in 2015 because they did not buckle their seat belts. The ticket cost for an adult seat belt violation is $162, with penalties for not restraining a child at $465.