Culver City Observer -

The Culver City Police Department reminds everyone taking a trip to visit friends or family over the Memorial Day Weekend to always buckle up and keep children in child safety seats.

This year’s Click it or Ticket campaign runs from May 23 to June 5. During this time, CCPD will have additional officers on patrol actively looking for drivers and passengers who are not wearing seat belts. This includes vehicles where children are not secured in child safety seats.

“Wearing a seat belt should be automatic for all drivers and passengers,” said Police Chief Manuel Cid. “It’s the safest thing to do, especially when it comes to securing children in child safety seats.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 10,893 people killed in crashes throughout the country in 2020 were not wearing seat belts. In California, 756 people killed in crashes in 2020 were not wearing seat belts, or nearly 20 percent of all traffic deaths in the state, officials said.

California law requires children to be secured in a safety or booster seat until they are at least 8 years old or at least 4 feet, 9 inches tall. Children under the age of 2 must ride in a rear-facing seat, unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall.

California has a primary seat belt law, which allows law enforcement officers to issue a ticket to someone for not wearing a seat belt without that person committing another traffic violation.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through NHTSA.