The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced on April 29 that it will participate in the Click It or Ticket campaign, which runs from May 18 to May 31. The campaign aims to remind travelers to buckle up and ensure children are secured in the correct car seats when traveling.
The focus of this effort is to increase safety for drivers and passengers by encouraging proper use of seat belts and child safety seats. During the campaign period, additional officers will patrol La Quinta and Coachella, looking for violations related to seat belt use and child passenger safety requirements.
Deputy Adrian Martinez said, “Our priority is protecting the people in our community. Wearing a seat belt or properly securing children in car seats or a booster seat gives everyone a better chance of surviving a crash. We want every trip – short or long – to end safely, so please buckle up, every time.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 10,484 unrestrained people killed in crashes across the United States in 2023. In California alone, there were 780 such fatalities last year, including 24 children. Unrestrained child fatalities increased by 4.3 percent from 2022 to 2023.
California law requires all children under two years old to ride in a rear-facing car seat unless they weigh at least forty pounds or are at least forty inches tall. Children under eight must be secured in an appropriate car seat or booster unless certain exceptions apply. Those aged eight and older—or who are at least four feet nine inches tall—may use only a properly fitted safety belt but can continue using booster seats if needed.
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to keep children in suitable rear- or forward-facing seats as long as possible and use tools like the “Five-Step Test” before transitioning them out of booster seats.
Funding for this program comes from a grant provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
