Seat belt enforcement in Pierce County ramps up next week

Seat belt safety will be a top priority for Pierce County law enforcement next week.

The national Click It or Ticket campaign kicks off Monday and lasts until June 4, targeting travelers during one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year.

“It’s more than just putting your own seat belt on in the car; it means making sure everyone else in your car is properly restrained, especially children,” said Cesi Velez, project manager of Washington’s Child Passenger Safety Program.

Officers from Bonney Lake, Dupont, Fife, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Milton, Puyallup, Ruston, Steilacoom, Sumner, Tacoma and University Place, as well as the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the State Patrol will participate.

Car crashes continue to be a leading cause of unintentional death of kids.

From 2011 to 2015, 48 percent of children who died in crashes did not have proper seat belt restraints, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

Here’s a rundown on Washington’s child passenger safety laws:

▪ Kids under 8 or shorter than 4-feet-9 must be in a car safety seat.

▪ Kids over 8 or taller than 4-feet-9 must properly use a seat belt.

▪ Children under 13 must ride in the back seat “where it is practical to do so.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Seat belt enforcement in Pierce County ramps up next week."