Is your seat belt buckled? Laguna police are watching

Laguna Beach police will be on heightened alert for motorists and passengers not wearing seat belts through May as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Click It Or Ticket campaign.

Nearly half of the 21,132 vehicle occupants killed in crashes nationwide in 2013 were unbuckled, Laguna Beach police said, citing safety administration statistics.

Fifty-nine percent of people killed were in crashes that occurred in the overnight hours, from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.

In California, 500 unbuckled passengers died in 2013.

“The bottom line is that seat belts save lives,” Laguna Beach Lt. Jeff Calvert said in a news release.

The minimum fine for a seat-belt violation in California is $161.

—Bryce Alderton

Twitter: @AldertonBryce