The La Mesa Police Department reminds everyone taking a trip to visit friends or family over the Memorial Day Weekend (May 26-29) to always buckle up and keep children in child safety seats.

This year’s Click It or Ticket campaign is from May 22-June 4. During this time, the La Mesa Police Department will have additional officers on patrol actively looking for drivers and passengers who are not wearing a seat belt. This includes vehicles where children are not secured in child safety seats.

“Wearing a seat belt should be automatic for all drivers and passengers,” La Mesa Police Department Chief Ray Sweeney said. “It’s the safe thing to do, especially when it comes to securing children in child safety seats.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 12,000 people killed in crashes throughout the country in 2021 were not wearing seat belts. In California, 756 people killed in crashes in 2020 were not wearing seat belts, accounting for nearly 20% of all traffic deaths statewide.

California law requires a child to be secured in a safety or booster seat until they are at least 8 years old or at least 4 feet, 9 inches tall. Children under the age of 2 must ride in a rear-facing seat unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds, or is 40 or more inches tall.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.