Countywide : Survey Shows Greater Usage of Seat Beats

A new survey indicates that more Orange County adults and children have been buckling up since the California seat belt law went into effect Jan. 1.

Sponsored by the Orange County Trauma Society, the survey checked 1,200 automobiles both before and after the law passed and found a marked increase in seat belt usage among both adults and small children.

According to survey coordinator Linda Stewart, of the 1,200 cars observed last August, 33% of the drivers were wearing seat belts. The observation team repeated their monitoring two weeks ago and found that 54% of the drivers had buckled up.

Positioning themselves each time at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue in Huntington Beach and the entrance to the Westminster Mall, the observation teams also monitored children up to the age of 4.

The survey found that the number of children secured in their car seats rose from 54% in August to 70% this month.

Stewart said the survey was designed to track the effects of safety belt and car seat usage in conjunction with increased enforcement of the 1983 Child Safety Seat Law by local law enforcement agencies.

She attributed the increase in child car seat usage to “a spillover effect” from the newly passed seat belt law.

Motorists as well as passengers over the age of 16 found not wearing a seat belt may be fined $20. However, the California Highway Patrol may only issue a summons if the driver is stopped for another offense.

The CHP may stop a car in which a child is not riding in a car seat and issue a citation that carries a fine of $50.