‘Click it or Ticket’ patrols in King County begin May 20

Published 9:58 am Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Between May 20 and June 2, motorists in King County can expect to see law enforcement patrolling city and county roads in search of unbuckled drivers and passengers and drivers using their cell phones.

Last year, during this same time period, officers on routine and extra patrols statewide issued 3,171 seatbelt violations among the 11,047 motorists who were stopped.

Similarly, last year during this time period, 1,059 cell phone violations were written. However, taking a historical look, in 2010, (the same year cell phone use became a primary law in Washington), only 63 drivers were cited statewide.

In King County, the Auburn, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Covington, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Port of Seattle, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, Seatac, Seattle, Tukwila and Woodinville police departments and the Washington State Patrol will be teaming up and participating in these extra patrols, with the support of the King County Target Zero Task Force.

These and all extra patrols are part of Target Zero — striving to end traffic deaths and serious injuries in Washington by 2030.

For more information, visit www.targetzero.com. Additional information on the Washington Traffic Safety Commission can be found at www.wtsc.wa.gov.