Memorial Day Weekend Seat Belt Crackdown Begins Friday In CA

CALIFORNIA – The California Highway Patrol is warning motorists to buckle up this Memorial Day weekend.

Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, the CHP will start a statewide "maximum enforcement period," during which officers will ticket drivers and passengers not wearing seat belts. Officers will also be on the lookout for distracted drivers and drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs. The holiday weekend campaign will conclude at midnight Monday.

About 70 percent of the 45 people who died in collisions on California roads during the 2017 Memorial Day weekend were not wearing seat belts, according to the CHP. There were 921 DUI arrests during the same MEP in the Golden State.

"It only takes two seconds to buckle up," CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said in a press release. "Wearing a seat belt is such a simple task to keep you and your passengers safe. Remember, it is also the law."

The Memorial Day MEP coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Click It or Ticket" campaign, which emphasizes seat belt safety during the busy travel season. The national campaign kicked off Monday and runs through June 3.

On a national level, nearly half the passenger vehicle occupants killed in collisions in 2016 were not wearing seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"Too many lives are lost every year due to preventable acts," Stanley said. "Law enforcement personnel see the tragic consequences too frequently of not buckling up or of driving impaired or distracted. These are all avoidable."

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