Authorities to ramp up enforcement of seat belt laws for 'Click It or Ticket' campaign

SAN ANTONIO – On Monday, TxDOT will kick off its annual "Click It or Ticket" campaign that reminds drivers and passengers to wear their seat belts.

According to TxDOT, 929 drivers who weren't wearing their seat belt died in collisions last yer. The department said while daytime seat belt usage is on the rise, nighttime use remains lower, leading to a higher rate of traffic fatalities.

Texas law requires everyone in a vehicle to be properly buckled up or face fines and court costs up to $200. Plus, using a seat belt reduces the risk of dying in a crash by 45 percent, and goes up to 60 percent for pickup trucks, according to TxDOT.

Children younger than eight must also be in a child safety seat or booster seat unless they’re taller than 4 feet 9 inches. Drivers out of compliance faces fines of up to $250, plus court costs.

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign in which officers step up their enforcement of the seat belt law will run from Monday to June 3.

The statewide “Click It or Ticket” campaign is estimated to have saved 5,473 lives, prevented more than 95,500 serious injuries and saved more than $20.7 billion in related economic costs from 2002 through 2017, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.