San Luis Obispo police are reminding people to wear seat belts as the holiday travel season gets underway.
AAA predicts nearly 49 million people will hit the road for the Thanksgiving holiday. Police say the chances of getting into a car crash increase when there are more cars on the road.
Law enforcement officers consider November 22 to 26 to be the Thanksgiving holiday.
San Luis Obispo police will be looking for drivers and passengers who aren’t wearing seat belts. In California, you can be fined $182 if you aren’t buckled up.
“Wearing a seat belt can literally be a life-saver,” said San Luis Obispo Police Sergeant John Villanti. “It only takes a couple seconds to buckle up, and buckling up is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash.”
The San Luis Obispo Police Department is joining other agencies across the country in the Click It or Ticket campaign, designed to make sure people wear seat belts.
According to police, 341 people were killed during the 2016 Thanksgiving weekend. 49 percent of them were not wearing a seat belt.
“Every day, we see the devastating effects of crashes involving people who don’t wear a seat belt,” said Sgt. Villanti. “Whether you’re on a cross-country road trip or driving one block, it’s critical you buckle up every trip, every time.”
