Tampa Police: Wear that Seatbelt!

Failure to buckle up causes more fatalities than any other single traffic safety-related behavior, according to a news release from the Tampa Police Department.

Enforcing the seat belt law saves lives, reduces injuries and can put tax dollars to better use. If officers have fewer crashes to investigate, they have more time to fight crime in Tampa.

That is why Tampa Police are joining hundreds of other law enforcement agencies across the nation in the "Click It or Ticket" through June 5th. If officers find motorists without a seatbelt, they can expect to receive a ticket – not a warning.

So buckle up and encourage your loved ones to do the same. You’ll save the cost of a ticket and you may even save a life.

• Every hour, someone dies in America simply because they didn't buckle up.
• Back seat passengers who do not wear seatbelts are three times as likely to die or have serious injuries as passengers who wear a rear seat belt.
• The driver is held responsible for passengers under 18 years of age who are not buckled up.
• Research shows that when a driver is unbuckled, 70 percent of the time children in that vehicle will not be buckled either. A child unrestrained in a 30-mile-per-hour crash is equivalent to a child falling from a three-story building. Personal choice is forfeited when others are injured and killed.
• The seatbelt violation fine is $103.00.