NEWS RELEASE

Recent Nighttime Seat Belt Enforcement Patrols a Success
More Than Seat Belt Violators Stopped and Cited

December 18, 2008

Between November 17 and December 7 extra law enforcement patrols canvassed Washington state roadways at nighttime looking for unbuckled motorists.  They found them and they ticketed them, as well as other violators.

During the patrols, local law enforcement officers wrote 1,420 seatbelt citations, and issued another 94 tickets for misuse of a seatbelt. This includes motorists who wear their shoulder belt under their arm or behind their back, which is unsafe and results in a $124 ticket.  In addition to the seatbelt violations, law enforcement also apprehended 43 DUIs, 68 misdemeanor warrants, cited 262 speeders, 21 aggressive drivers, as well as 416 uninsured and 189 motorists driving with a suspended or revoked license.

The Washington State patrol wrote an additional 1,071 seatbelt tickets, and apprehended 69 DUIs, made 57 drug related arrests, cited 214 speeders, 73 aggressive drivers, as well as 170 uninsured and 147 motorists driving with a suspended or revoked license.

The message to buckle up is ongoing – motorists need to Click it or they will get a Ticket.  Studies show that a person wearing a seatbelt has a 70% better chance of surviving a crash than a non-belted person.

About 60 police and sheriff agencies throughout the state, as well as the Washington State Patrol worked the extra patrols, funded by a grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.