Buckle Up South Florida, FHP Begins "Click It Or Ticket" Campaign

MIAMI (CBS4) – Just in time for the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Florida Highway Patrol has kicked off their annual "Click it or Ticket" campaign.

Beginning Monday, May 23rd through June 5th, FHP troopers will crack down on drivers who are not wearing their safety belts. Violators will be issued a $30 base fine and have to pay court costs if convicted.

Standing on the side of an entrance ramp to I-95, troopers pulled over drivers who were not buckled up.

"The reason why you been stopped is you don't have your seat belt on," Trooper Tim Burtcher explained to Damian, a driver who did not what to give his last name.  "I just let a friend's house and I was in a hurry to get home and I just had my mind focused on going home," Damian explained to CBS 4's Ted Scouten.

DMV research found drivers who do not wear seat belts are five times more likely to die in a crash.  "It can save you from being thrown through the windshield or in a roll over  you can be ejected out of the side of the car," explained Trooper Brutcher.

Florida law requires all drivers and occupants in the front seat of a vehicle to fasten their safety belt. Occupants under the age of 18, regardless of where they sit in a vehicle, also must buckle up.

The FHP said last year safety belt usage statewide climbed to more than 87 percent, an all time high.