‘Click It Or Ticket’ safety belt campaign ready to begin

You better buckle up. Police across the state are set to begin their newest "Click It or Ticket" campaign. Buckling up is the single-most effective way to prevent highway fatalities, law enforcement officials say.

It begins May 19th and continues through June 1st and has law enforcement across the state firmly enforcing vehicle seat belt and child restraint laws. No warnings; it's click it or ticket.

Even with gasoline prices at an all time high, many motorists will take advantage of the long Memorial Day weekend to take a trip. And all too often, when drivers and passengers forget to use seat belts or child safety seats, the trip results in tragedy.

It is against the law for motorists to drive without buckling up in Florida. Children, depending on their age and/or weight, must be restrained, either in a child safety seat or by a seat belt. Motorists who pulled over for a traffic violation and are not wearing a seat belt will be ticketed.

Seat belts save an estimated 9,500 lives in America each year, national statistics indicate.

Click It or Ticket is the most successful seat belt enforcement campaign ever, helping create the highest national seat belt usage rate of 82 percent. Coast to coast, day or night, the message is simple - Click It or Ticket.