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Operational Requirements and Recommendations

Seat belt enforcement must be conducted by supervisors and officers who are assigned to duty.

The enforcement overtime should be conducted during daylight hours or at night in well-lit areas where the wearing (or not wearing) of safety belts by vehicle occupants can be observed by officers. Enforcement should be conducted in enforcement zones (a geographical area), or by saturation patrols (a designated section of roadway) or a combination of both enforcement strategies in areas where the seat belt surveys were conducted.

Important: OTS will not reimburse overtime costs for conducting seat belt checkpoints.

Grantees are required to:

  1. Conduct by May 12, 2008 or before the mobilization period, occupant protection roll call trainings for officers and administrative personnel selected to participate in the operational phase.
  2. Conduct a seat belt survey of 100 drivers one week prior to and one week after the May mobilization. Personnel time and any costs required to conduct the surveys will be considered as the agency’s contribution to the mini-grant and will not be reimbursed.
  3. Conduct a 21-day (May 12 thru June 1, 2008) overtime enforcement operation specifically targeting seat belt violations.
  4. Submit a signed mobilization report, the pre- and post surveys, press release and media information to TSC by June 30, 2008 (in hand date).
  5. Submit the claim and supporting documentation to TSC by August 29, 2008 (in hand date).

Note: Nothing in the Click It or Ticket Application or any resulting agreement shall be interpreted as a requirement, formal or informal, that a particular police officer issue a specified or predetermined number of citations in pursuance of the obligation.

A two-hour training session about mini-grant reporting requirements, roll call enforcement review information and how to fill out claims will be provided at various geographical locations statewide during March/April 2008. Grantees  are strongly encouraged to attend this training as the reporting requirements have been expanded, and the claim procedures have changed from prior mini-grants. Agencies will NOT be reimbursed for personnel and travel costs to attend the training.

 

Click It or Ticket Mini-Grants 2008>>About the program

About the Program

The Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), funds the Click It or Ticket (CIOT) mobilization throughout California from May 12-June 1, 2008. The UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center (TSC) will administer and coordinate the CIOT mini-grants for OTS. All funding decisions will be made with OTS approval.

The CIOT goal is to increase seat belt use statewide to 95.0% in 2008 through the combined efforts of the California Highway Patrol (CHP), OTS and local law enforcement. The CIOT strategy during the 2008 CIOT National Mobilization is to focus public information and enforcement on persons who fail to use seat belts. OTS will coordinate the public information element of the campaign one week prior to, during and after the 2008 enforcement mobilization period (with a post press release with results optional).

Agencies Who Qualify

Contract cities, sheriff departments, police departments, airport police departments, and University of California/State University/Junior College law enforcement agencies are eligible for funding.

Note: Only agencies in compliance with the Federal Single Audit Act may be awarded mini-grants. Agencies can check their compliance status with their city finance department to avoid delays or problems in receiving a mini-grant.

Costs the Mini-Grant Covers

A mini-grant covers actual overtime costs for supervisors (e.g. sergeants, corporals) officers/deputies, dispatchers, administrative (e.g. community services officers or CSOs, finance and clerical) during the mobilization time period. Supervisors and officers/deputies must be assigned solely to seat belt enforcement duties. Dispatchers must be assigned solely to the enforcement overtime shifts. The CSO, finance and clerical personnel must be assigned solely to mini-grant administrative duties.

Promotion requirements and recommendations

Mini-grantees are required to issue a press release emphasizing the importance of using occupant restraint systems and announcing the seat belt enforcement period. An OTS sample press release will be posted on the TSC website. Grantees are required to include in their final report to the TSC, copies of newspaper articles and media information about the CIOT mobilization.

Smaller mini-grantees are encouraged to collaborate with other mini-grantees to do a combined press release if there is only one newspaper that services the area. Agencies should also plan ahead if newspapers require monthly deadlines. Please contact the CIOT Program Coordinator for more information.

 

Administered by the UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center

Call Irene Kan at (510) 643-5766 or email her at
clickit@lists.berkeley.edu if you have questions.


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