Heading west? Buckle up or risk $124 fine

Washingtonians are serious about seatbelts.

That’s why between today and June 5, motorists can expect to see law enforcement patrolling city and county roadways in search of unbuckled or improperly buckled drivers and passengers.  The Cheney, Airway Heights, Eastern Washington University, Spokane, Spokane Valley and Washington State University Police Departments, the Pend Oreille, Spokane and Whitman County Sheriff’s Offices, and the Washington State Patrol will be participating in these extra patrols, with the support of the Spokane County Target Zero Task Force.

If you're ticketed, it'll cost you $124.

To see a list of all Washington law enforcement agencies participating in this mobilization and multimedia links, click on www.wabuckleup.com.

“Law enforcement officers would rather have motorists buckle up than write a seat belt infraction. The evidence is clear that seat belts save lives. By increasing seat belt use, Washington continues to reduce the costs incurred by those who don’t buckle up,” said Lowell Porter, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

Statistical analysis shows that wearing a seat belt decreases the chance of dying or being seriously injured in a collision by about 70 percent, compared to an unbuckled motorist. Medical costs from vehicle collisions amount to more than $276 million each year in this state and vast sums of money have been saved by getting motorists to buckle up.

In Washington State between 2005 and 2009, 2,866 people died in vehicle collisions and another 13,749 were seriously injured. The good news is that traffic deaths among motor vehicle occupants have fallen 32% and serious injuries are down 27% on Washington roadways since 2002.

For additional information about the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, visit www.wtsc.wa.gov.