Suffolk, Nassau to step up seat-belt enforcement

Wear your seat belt or travel at your own risk - of being ticketed by police.

So warned the Nassau and Suffolk police departments in separate statements announcing that officers will crack down on unbelted motorists starting Monday as part of the statewide "Buckle up New York, Click it or Ticket" enforcement campaign.

The action will run through May 31, police said.

Suffolk police officers will "conduct checkpoints and saturation patrols to raise the public's awareness to the importance of wearing a seat belt," Suffolk police said in a Friday news release.

Noncompliance will not be tolerated, police said.

"All too often we respond to crashes in which someone is seriously injured or killed because a seat belt wasn't used," said Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer. "We want motorists to remember to buckle up. It's not only the law - it saves lives."

In Nassau the initiative will consist of "high visibility enforcement, targeting occupant restraint noncompliance," according to Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence W. Mulvey. A "zero tolerance policy" for violations will apply in that county as well, the commissioner warned.

Police said the goal of the program is "to increase safety belt and child seat usage in an effort to reduce serious injuries and fatalities resulting from motor vehicle accidents."

The ticket for a seat belt violation is $130, police said.

By JOHN VALENTI
Posted Saturday, May 16, 2009

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