Seatbelt Enforcement Effort Next Week In Darien

DARIEN, CT — Local police officers will be stepping up seatbelt enforcement throughout Darien starting next week, as part of the national "Click It or Ticket" campaign, department officials announced.

The initiative will run from Monday, May 22, through Sunday, June 4, and the Darien Police Department will be among hundreds of other law enforcement agencies across the country participating in the effort.

"With the Memorial Day weekend coming upon us, Connecticut's law enforcement agencies intend to promote safe driving and increase the protection of all motorists," wrote the Connecticut Department of Transportation, which supports the campaign, in a statement. "Law enforcement officials are out on Connecticut's roads enforcing the State Occupant Protection laws and issuing citations to those who are unbuckled."

Currently, the fine for adults who are not wearing a seatbelt while traveling in a vehicle in Connecticut is $92. All front seat passengers are required to wear seatbelts while traveling. Passengers over 18 years old who are sitting in the rear seat of a vehicle are not required to wear a seatbelt unless the operator is under 18 years old.

All passengers under 18 years old are required to wear seatbelts, even passengers who are sitting in the rear seat of a vehicle; the current seatbelt fine for persons under the age of 18 is $120.

An operator transporting any passengers who are under 16 years old "is responsible for ensuring that their passengers are properly seat belted, and it would be the operator who is cited for any of these seatbelt violations."

Connecticut State law also requires that children under 1 year old and less than 20lbs. must be secured in a rear facing child safety seat, this violation carries a $92 fine. Passengers over 1 year old, less than 7 years old, and weigh less than 60lbs are required to be secured in a child safety seat or booster seat; this violation also carries a $92 fine.

Once a child is over 7 years old and weighs more 60lbs, that child could be seat belted in a regular passenger seat.

Seatbelt usage when in a car or SUV cannot be emphasized enough. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost half of the 22,441 people who were killed in fatal passenger vehicle crashes in the United States in 2015 were not wearing seatbelts.

Patch file photo