"Click It Or Ticket" Reminder of Proper Safety Belt Use

Starting Wednesday, the Josephine County Sheriff’s Department is participating  in the “Click It or Ticket” safety belt enforcement campaign. The keys to remember: children under 40 pounds need a child safety seat, children under one need to be in a rear-facing child seat, and children under 8, or shorter than 4-foot-9 need to be in a booster seat.

Police want to remind motorists that properly-used safety restraints greatly enhance the chances of drivers and passengers surviving a vehicle crash, and that unrestrained vehicle occupants are more likely to be ejected, and the chances of surviving a vehicle ejection are less than 25 percent. Their statistics also point out that one-third of children killed in Oreon crashes were either using adult safety belt systems or none at all.

The fine for any seat belts violation in Oregon is $110. Since seat belt laws were passed in 1990, crash fatality and injury rates have decreased 44 and 49 percent statewide.