The James City County Police Department is on the lookout for drivers and passengers who are not wearing their seat belts.
Without one, a person’s body becomes a missile inside the vehicle, according to a news release from James City County.
The department is participating in the Click It or Ticket campaign’s May mobilization, which seeks to increase the use of seat belts in the U.S.
Driving without a seat belt as an adult is a secondary offense in Virginia, meaning a police officer cannot pull a vehicle over solely for a seat belt violation. A juvenile without a seat belt raises the infraction to a primary offense.
“We’re going to be set up and looking for primary violations and drivers who aren’t wearing their seat belts as well,” said Master Police Officer Leslie Sten of the James City County Police Department.
The release encourages drivers to buckle their own seat belts as soon as they get in the car. The next step is to ensure everyone else in the car is wearing their seat belts, too.
Anyone who receives a citation for driving without a seat belt is on the hook for a $25 fine. That fine climbs to $50 if a juvenile isn’t wearing a seat belt. Subsequent violations for juveniles not wearing seat belts can be up to $500.
In 2012, seat belts saved an estimated 12,174 people from dying, according to the release. From 2008 to 2012, nearly 63,000 lives were saved. More than 3,000 lives could have been saved during that period if people were wearing their seat belt.
Young adults die at disproportionate rates due to not wearing seat belts, according to the release. For those between the ages of 18 and 34 who die in a car accident, 62 percent were not wearing seat belts.
“It’s a simple precaution you can take to saving your life, because anything can happen out on the road,” Sten said.