Starting tonight, lawn enforcement officers all over Kitsap County will be executing additional patrols for Washington state’s Click it or Ticket campaign.

Between May 20 and June 2, motorists in Kitsap 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 seat belt violations amongst 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.

Approximately 82 percent of drivers in Washington wore seat belts when Click it or Ticket began in 2002, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission estimates. Now, the commission says, that number has risen to nearly 97 percent.

The commission and Washington state law enforcement agencies say they hope to be as effective targeting cell phone use as they were targeting unbuckled drivers.

In Kitsap County, the Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Suquamish Police Departments, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol will be teaming up and participating in these extra patrols, with the support of the Kitsap 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 theWashington Traffic Safety Commission can be found on the website,www.wtsc.wa.gov.