Gear up! Click It or Ticket Campaign to be January 27 through February 9

Oregon Department of Transportation has funded a high visibility seat belt enforcement event from January 27 through February 9 and Eugene Police will provide additional enforcement during that period.

The Eugene Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit is reminding drivers about the lifesaving benefits of wearing a seat belt and proper child safety restraints. The Oregon laws regarding child safety include requirements that children ride in a rear-facing safety seat until they are at least two years old. A child over age two must continue to ride in a car seat with harness or in a booster until they reach age eight or 4' 9" in height and the adult belt fits them correctly. The requirementsbetter protect the child's head, neck, and spine from potential crash injuries. This is because a rear-facing seat spreads crash forces evenly across the seat and child's body while also limiting forward or sideways motion of the head.

Seat belts are the best defense against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers. Being buckled up during a crash helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle; being completely ejected from a vehicle is almost always deadly.

"Modern passenger cars and trucks are equipped with various advanced safety features. However, if a driver or their passengers are not properly restrained - using safety belt systems, child safety seats, and or belt positioning boosters - no amount of technology will keep an occupant safe," said Sergeant Nate Pieske of the Eugene Police Traffic Safety Unit. "An overwhelming amount of the serious injury crashes and deaths related to traffic crashes in this community could have been mitigated or prevented entirely had occupants been properly restrained during traffic crashes."

The Eugene Police Traffic Safety Unit, Eugene Police patrol officers, and participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night. In Eugene, the presumptive fine for a seat belt violation is $150.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.

Online Resources:

• Car Seat Types : Determine whether your child fits best in a rear-facing car seat, forward-facing car seat, booster seat, or seat belt.
• Car Seat Recommendations: Review NHTSA's recommendations for the best car seat for your child's age and size.
• Find and Compare: Find and compare car seats with NHTSA's handy car seat finder, which also searches specific brands.

Oregon Department of Transportation Seatbelts and Child Seats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFC2K2AfdJM

More ODOT information on safety belts and child seats at: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TS/Pages/safetybelts.aspx