Deputies Buckle Down on Belt Use

Sheriff’s deputies stopped about 1,400 motorists at a checkpoint Saturday, but they wrote no tickets, issued no citations and made no arrests. Officers just wanted to remind people to buckle up.

“It was really a lot of fun,” said Sgt. Bob Wilson of the Sheriff’s Department. “We thought for sure somebody would complain . . . you know, like, ‘Why are you stopping me?’ . . . But we got nothing but positive comments.”

Deputies, who said the seat-belt operation was the first of its kind in California, modeled the operation after the controversial sobriety checkpoints recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But to avoid potential legal challenges, officers decided to focus on education, not enforcement. Those who were unbuckled were given a gentle admonition and handed a packet of brochures on highway safety.

Those with fastened seat belts were commended and invited to pick up a free gift at a traffic safety fair that officers had set up at nearby Puente Hills Mall.

Although the Los Angeles chapter of the National Safety Council estimates that about half of all motorists wear seat belts, deputies said they recorded about a 70% compliance rate.

Of course, that might have had something to do with the large sign about 1,000 yards down Castleton Street, advising drivers that they were about to come to a seat-belt checkpoint. There was even time to make a turn and seek an alternate route.

But for every motorist on the lam, officers said, there was somebody so thrilled with the idea that they decided to pass through again.

“Some people got there and went home to bring their kids back down,” Wilson said. “One guy with three children drove through the checkpoint, then drove through again and was going to go through a third time.”

Eleven deputies from the Industry substation organized the checkpoint and safety fair, with the help of two California Highway Patrol officers and about two dozen Explorer Scouts, reserve officers and civilian volunteers.

The four-hour event was paid for by corporate sponsors and donations from Industry business people.