This year’s annual statewide “Click It or Ticket” campaign will take place between May 18 and May 31. During these dates, motorists in Washington can expect to see extra seat belt patrols, which will include an emphasis on children who are not properly restrained.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional deaths among children in the United States. Between 2010 and 2012, in Washington State, 26 child passengers age 12 and younger died, and another 122 were seriously injured as a result of traffic crashes. The majority of these tragedies likely could have been avoided had these children been properly restrained, as dictated by Washington State law.

On August 27, 2013, Deputy Tyson Voss of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) witnessed a motorist running a stop sign at an intersection just off Interstate 90 near George, WA. When Deputy Voss made contact with this motorist, he noticed two small children in the back seat who were not properly restrained. Deputy Voss had previously spent several years in the GCSO’s Motor Traffic Unit, where he actively participated in the Child Car Seat Project and knew the importance of properly restraining children in a motor vehicle.

Before allowing the motorist to leave the scene, he instructed her to properly restrain her one-year-old and three-year-old children in their car seats. Within only a few miles and just minutes later, the motorist Deputy Voss had stopped fell asleep at the wheel. Her car careened off State Route 283, hit a light pole, vaulted over the intersecting county road, and ended up on its side. Had these two children not been properly restrained, the crash forces they sustained would most likely have killed or seriously injured them. Since they were in their car seats correctly, the children sustained no injuries.

Cesi Velez, Project Manager for Washington Child Passenger Safety, explains, “Washington State law requires child passengers to be properly restrained until the motor vehicle safety belt fits properly. It also requires children under the age of 13 to ride in the back seat. Seems simple enough, yet car and booster seats can be very confusing! Educating the public on Washington law can also be challenging for law enforcement. A new online child passenger safety training will be available to law enforcement officers prior to the start of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign. This training will assist officers to help ensure children are riding safely in the car.”

For more information on Child Passenger Safety in Washington, please visit http://washingtonCPS.com.