Oregon Police Departments enforce the state’s safety belt overtime enforcement program, Click It or Ticket It. Studies have shown that most Oregonians comply with the seat belt law during daylight hours but are more inclined to not buckle up when darkness falls. Police enforce the seat belt law and are actively looking for drivers and passengers not complying with the law.
We all are aware that the use of seat restraints saves lives. Studies have proved that fact over and over, yet some drivers and passengers still ignore the statistics. According to Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), fatalities and serious injuries increase when vehicle occupants are not wearing seat belts.“Proper use of a safety belt or a child restraint system holds a person safely in place and inside the car and can prevent injury from occurring during sudden stops, swerves or a crash,” said Carla Levinski, ODOT’s Occupant Protection Program manager. “Without a safety belt or child car seat, occupants can be thrown against each other or completely out of the vehicle – and that greatly increases chances of serious injury.”
Oregon law requires the following:
- Child passengers weighing less than forty pounds must be restrained in a child seat.
- Children under one year or weighing less than twenty pounds must be restrained in a rear-facing child seat.
- A child over forty pounds must be restrained in either a child seat or a booster seat appropriate for her size until she reaches age eight or 4/9” tall AND the adult belt system fits her properly.