EMMAUS POLICE

The Emmaus Police Department will participate in a national “Click It or Ticket” seat belt initiative through June 4.

The effort will focus largely on nighttime enforcement, between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m., using traffic enforcement zones and roving patrols, according to police. Police will also use traffic enforcement zones, which combine stationary enforcement and checkpoint tactics on roadways with high numbers of unbuckled crashes. Citations will be issued to motorists who are caught unbuckled or transporting unrestrained children.

According to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation data, there were 13,534 unrestrained crashes resulting in 413 fatalities in 2015.

Motorists are reminded Pennsylvania’s primary seat belt law requires drivers and passengers under 18 years old to buckle up and children under four must be properly restrained in an approved child safety seat.

Children ages four to eight must be restrained in an appropriate booster seat. A new law effective in August 2016 requires a child under two years of age to be securely fastened in a rear-facing child passenger restraint system, which is to be used until the child outgrows the maximum weight and limits designated by the manufacturer. In addition, children eight to 18 must wear a seat belt when riding anywhere in a vehicle.

Also, drivers and front-seat passengers 18 or older are required to buckle up. If motorists are stopped for a traffic violation and are not wearing their seat belt, they can receive a second ticket and fine.

The initiative includes 315 Pennsylvania municipal agencies supplementing the national mobilization. As part of the initiative, PennDOT distributes federal enforcement funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For more information on seat belt safety, visit the website penndot.gov/safety.