CHP TO LOOK FOR SEAT BELT VIOLATIONS : HOLIDAY CRACKDOWN PLANNED.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

Veteran travelers in California know that holiday weekends are not a good time to speed on the state's freeways. That's when they're just about swarming with CHP patrol officers.

But this Labor Day weekend there will be one more thing to worry about when checking the rearview mirror: buckling up.

Seeking to reduce the number of fatal accidents, the California Highway Patrol is promising a crackdown on motorists and passengers who are caught without seat belts.

``Looking for seat belt violations is something we normally do,'' said Officer Rob Lund, a CHP spokesman. ``But this weekend we are really stressing it. Sometimes people get lackadaisical after a long weekend.''

What that means is that patrol officers will not ignore seat belt scofflaws in their search for drunk drivers, speeders and violators of arguably more serious laws, Lund said.

Last Labor Day weekend, the CHP reported that 78 people died on the state's roadways, and more than half of those deaths could have been prevented with the use of seat belts.

The cost of the ticket varies from community to community. In the Santa Clarita Valley, offenders are sent to Newhall Municipal Court, where it costs $22 for the first violation and more for subsequent ones.

The ticket is not considered a point violation by the DMV.

CHP officers also have the option of writing up the driver and the passenger when an adult passenger is found unbuckled.

``Normally we won't, but it just depends on the officer,'' Lund said. ``The officer may have seen a lot of accidents where seat belts could have made a difference.''