Under a $10,000 grant from the Office of Traffic Safety, officers from the Sheriff's Substation will be taking on 15 additional shifts, which equates to approximately 150 hours and 70 officers in the field—20 of them in Saratoga, 42 in Cupertino and eight in Los Altos Hills.

"There will be no tolerance for seat-belt violations," said Sgt. Bill Tait of the Westside Sheriff's Substation. "People need to understand that it's not OK, nor is it safe, to drive without seat belts."

The penalty for driving without a seat belt is $50 for first-time offenders. However, Tait said that officers will be putting an additional focus on making sure that children are properly belted in.

According to state law, all children under age 6 or 60 pounds must be properly secured in a child-restraint system.

Based on a nationwide survey in which officers recorded the number of cars at crosswalks and compared that to the number of drivers and passengers wearing seat belts, California ranks third highest of states with the highest seat-belt compliance, with its rate of 91.2 percent, trailing Washington and Hawaii. However, the goal of the campaign is to bring the compliance rate to 94 percent, which is what it was in previous years.

According to a study, 1,268 fatalities occurred in 2001 due to unbelted vehicular occupants, of which approximately 45 percent or 571 lives could have been saved had these victims buckled up. In addition, a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that youths ages 15 to 20 have a higher fatality rate than any other age group in the U.S. This is due to a greater inclination to take risky actions such as speeding and driving while under the influence, combined with a lower percentage of seat-belt use.

An alarming statistic showed that of the 5,341 teens who were killed in 2001 due to traffic accidents, two-thirds were not wearing seat belts. However, in that same year, approximately 13,000 lives were saved because of seat belts.

Research showed that seat belts can reduce the risk of fatal injury by at least 45 percent and moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent.

Tait said that one of the biggest reasons why people avoid wearing seat belts is belief in the myth that they're not necessary when traveling only a short distance.

"A lot of people think that it's not necessary to wear a seat belt if they're making a quick run to the market, but most accidents occur within 5 miles from a person's home," Tait said.

Other reasons include forgetfulness and discomfort in wearing a seat belt.

"We just want to make sure that people get home safely," Tait said.