NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The 2009 Florida "Click It or Ticket" enforcement wave is well under way across Florida and will run through May 31, said New Smyrna Beach police Sgt. John Kosorok. The fine for not wearing a seat belt is $101.
One of every five Floridians who did not buckle up accounted for three in five fatalities, he said, adding since Florida joined the Click It or Ticket campaign in 2001, safety belt usage has jumped 26 percent. In 2008, Florida’s safety belt rate was 81.7 percent, pulling almost even with the national average of 82 percent. For every percentage point increase in safety belt use saves an estimated 270 lives.
Effective June 30, new legislation makes seat belt violations a primary stop.
"The New Smyrna Beach Police Department embraces the 2009 Florida Click It or Ticket campaign, Kosorok said. "We believe in this enforcement and care about the lives it saves."