Click It or Ticket

It only takes two seconds to buckle up. Two seconds! And those two seconds could literally save your life. They will also keep you from getting a ticket and paying a fine.

Law enforcement throughout California will be looking for drivers and passengers who don’t buckle up during the “Click It or Ticket” seat belt campaign. They will be on the lookout for drivers and passengers - including passengers in the back seat, day and night.

“Click It or Ticket” debuted in California in 2005, and since then the state’s seat belt use rate has increased from 92.5% in 2005 to 95.9% in 2018.

The cost of an adult seat belt violation in California is $162, and a $490 fine for not properly restraining a child under 16. If the parent is not in the car, the driver gets the ticket.

It’s proven that seat belts save lives. The National Highway Traffic Safety estimated nearly 15,000 lives were saved in 2017 due to seat belts.

So when you load up the family for a road trip, a trek across town or just driving to school or work, please do so safely - every trip, every time, day and night. Don’t put your own life at risk, or the life of your family or friends. Buckle up.

Using seat belts and child safety seats is the number one best thing you can do to survive a crash.

Seat Belt Facts

Be a Part of the Progress

• The national seat belt use rate is at 90.7%, and in California it’s 95.9%, which is good, but we can do better.

Enforce Life-Saving Laws

• Click It or Ticket isn’t about the citations; it’s about saving lives. Of the 37,133 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2017, 47% were not wearing seat belts. To help prevent crash fatalities, we need to step up enforcement and crack down on those who don’t wear their seat belts.
• Seat belt use is required by law for a reason: In 2017 seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 people from dying.
• In 2017, 618 people killed in crashes across California were not wearing their seat belts.

Face the Facts

• In 2017, nearly half of the motor vehicle occupants who died in crashes were unrestrained.
• In 2018, an additional 89 lives in California could have been saved if everyone was wearing their seat belt.

Bust the Myths

• Vehicle type: There seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in pickup trucks that their large vehicles will protect them more than other vehicles in crashes. But the numbers say otherwise. In 2017, 62% of pickup truck occupants who were killed were not buckled up. That’s compared to 42% of passenger car occupants who were killed while not wearing their seat belts. Regardless of vehicle type, seat belt use is the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash.
• Seating position: Too many people wrongly believe they are safe in the back seat unrestrained. 46% of all front-seat occupants killed in crashes in 2017 were unrestrained, but 56% of those killed in back seats were unrestrained.
• Rural versus urban locations: People who live in rural areas might believe that their crash exposure is lower, but in 2016, there were 18,590 crash fatalities in rural locations, compared to 17,656 crash fatalities in urban locations. Out of those fatalities, 49% of those killed in the rural locations were not wearing their seat belts, compared to 46% in urban locations.

Click or Ticket — Day and Night

• High-visibility seat belt enforcement is important 24 hours a day, but nighttime is especially deadly for unbuckled occupants. In 2016, about 56% of passenger vehicle occupants were killed at night (6 p.m. - 5:59 a.m.) who were not wearing their seat belts.