Seat belt awareness campaign begins in Merced County, emphasizing safety on roads

Merced County law enforcement agencies are reminding motorists about the importance of wearing seat belts as the agencies launch a Seat Belts Save Lives campaign beginning this week.

There were 56 traffic fatalities recorded in Merced County in 2024. In 20% of those fatalities, the occupant was not wearing a seat belt, said Eric Zuniga, public information officer with the Merced area CHP office. Of those 56 fatalities the CHP investigated 15 fatal traffic collisions, 40% of which involved the occupant not restrained, he said.

Fatal traffic collisions throughout the state of California decreased by more than 7% in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the first nine months of 2023, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. In the first nine months of 2024, the NHTSA data shows there was an estimated 2,824 fatalities compared to an estimated 3,052 fatalities in 2023 over the same period of time. The data indicates a 7.5% decrease in traffic fatalities in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the first nine months of 2023.

One way the CHP works to educate the public on the importance of seat belt usage is through presentations at schools to educate young children on the importance of wearing seat belts, Zuniga said

“When I do presentations at schools or even for mature drivers, I always tell them if you are going to remember anything from this presentation it’s to always wear your seat belt,” he said. “It takes you about five, ten seconds to put on that seat belt. It could be your life or you could get seriously injured in collisions or maybe lose your life so that’s what we’re trying to avoid.”

While law enforcement will be looking for seat belt use during the course of the maximum enforcement period, Zuniga said seat belt use is something officers are always looking for when patrolling Merced County.

“Our job is to make sure that everybody’s complying out there putting that restraint system on,” said Zuniga. “Part of it is education and just reminding people “‘hey put the seat belt on.’”

Zuniga also stressed the importance of making sure children are properly restrained inside the vehicle. Children under 8-years-of-age or 4-feet-9 inches tall, must be secured in a car seat or booster seat according to California law. The seat belt should extend down over the child’s shoulder and clavicle while the lap belt is secured across the hips, according to Zuniga.

Anyone looking for assistance in securing child car seats can visit the CHP Merced area office and call 209-356-6600 to make an appointment.

“We would love to have you here and basically we will not only just install it, but we will teach you how to properly install that car seat,” Zuniga. said.

California recorded the second most traffic fatalities last year, trailing only Texas which recorded an estimated 3,049 fatalities in the first nine months of 2024. According to the data, the country saw an estimated 4.4% decrease in traffic fatalities in the first nine months of 2024 from the first nine months of 2023.

Additionally, preliminary data from the Federal Highway Administration shows that in the first nine months of 2024, the total number of vehicle miles traveled increased by 19.7 billion miles. This data indicates a 0.8% increase from the same time frame in 2023. The data also shows a 2024 fatality rate of 1.18 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, which is a decrease from the projected rate of 1.24 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled during the first nine months of 2023.

A video stressing the importance of seat belt usage was posted to social media Friday including officials from the Merced Area CHP, Merced Police Department and the Merced County Sheriff’s Office as part of a Seat Belts Save Lives campaign. Authorities said the campaign will run from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2.

This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 7:10 AM.