Local police agencies to enforce seat belt laws through May 18

The Los Alamitos and Seal Beach police departments recently announced that they would participate in a nationwide seat belt law enforcement program through May 31. The program is called “Click It or Ticket.”

“Every day, unbuckled motorists are losing their lives in motor vehicle crashes,” said Chief Joe Stilinovich of the Seal Beach Police Department. “As we approach Memorial Day weekend and the summer vacation season, we want to make sure people are doing the one best thing that can save them in a crash, buckling up.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that nearly half of the 21,132 vehicle traffic deaths throughout the United States in 2013 were individuals who were not wearing seat belts. According to the federal agency, that figure rose to 59 percent between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Five hundred individuals who were not wearing seat belts died in California traffic collissions in 2013.