AUGUSTA, Maine — Law enforcement agencies throughout the state will be heavily enforcing Maine’s seat belt laws over the next two weeks.
State Police and 83 Maine police agencies will join forces in the “Buckle Up – No Excuses” campaign in which police will crack down on drivers who don’t wear their safety belts, Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said Monday.
The crackdown kicked off Monday and runs through June 2.
The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety distributed $178,000 in federal highway safety funding to support the effort, which will pay police for overtime work, McCausland said. Maine’s effort coincides with the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign which involves police nationwide.
So far, approximately 30 people have been killed on Maine’s highways in 2013, with 15 of them not wearing a seat belt, according to McCausland.
“Too many drivers and passengers are not wearing their seat belts,” Col. Robert Williams, Chief of the State Police said.
A similar enforcement effort running from the beginning of January through the end of March produced 2,478 seat belt tickets and 2,549 warnings, McCausland said.
A ticket for not wearing a seat belt in Maine will cost a driver $70 for the first offense, $160 for the second offense and $310 for the third offense.
