Wilton Police Begin Spot-Checking for Seatbelts Today

The Wilton Police Department will be participating in a two week intensified enforcement of motor vehicle seatbelt laws.  The high visibility enforcement will run from November 14 – November 27. The department will be participating in a state and national “Click It or Ticket” campaign during which there will be an aggressive seatbelt enforcement mobilization to crack down on low seat belt use.

During this mobilization police will perform spot checks on various roads, as well as observing drivers and passengers during the normal course of patrol duties. To convince more nighttime drivers to buckle up, the 2011 mobilization will include round-the-clock enforcement – but especially at night.

Drivers failing to restrain themselves and any passengers under the age of 16 will be ticketed according to the law. Regular seatbelt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes, yet nearly one in five Americans still fail to regularly wear their seatbelts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  (www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov)

Connecticut’s Safety Belt law requires:

1. All drivers and front seat passengers to wear a safety belt.
2. If the operator of such vehicle is under 18 years of age, all occupants shall wear such seat safety belt.  
3. All passengers in a vehicle under 16 years of age must be secured.
4. The driver is responsible for any passenger under 16 years of age.
5. Any infant under the age of 1 or weighing less than 20 pounds to be secured in a rear facing child restraint system.  
6. Children must be in a child restraint system, such as a car seat with internal harness or booster seat, until the child is both over 6 years old and over 60 pounds.  
7. Children who ride in a booster seat must use a lap and shoulder belt.  

-Lieutenant Stephen Brennan
Wilton Police Department