SAFETY SCANS; NATIONAL SEAT BELT CAMPAIGN MARKED AT AREA CHECKPOINTS.

Byline: Krystn Shrieve Daily News Staff Writer

Drivers should heed the lights on their dashboards or the dinging bells that warn them to buckle their seat belts.

Buckling up is best - that's the message law enforcement officers throughout the area are trying to get across to drivers this week.

The effort is part of Buckle Up America Week, a national seat belt campaign that runs through Memorial Day weekend, when more drivers usually take to the road.

Tuesday morning, drivers along Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Agoura Hills were stopped at a seat belt checkpoint operated by deputies from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's Malibu-Lost Hills station.

Deputy Robert Evans said between 600 and 700 cars passed through the checkpoint, and 72 citations were issued.

In Ventura County, checkpoints are being set up in Oxnard this week to remind drivers to buckle up.

Officer Ken Klopman, traffic coordinator with the Oxnard Police Department, said Monday's efforts yielded approximately 400 cars. On Tuesday, officers talked to people in about 500 cars.

``Most people are supportive, but it's a really short contact,'' Klopman said. ``The cars come up; we take a quick look inside and give them some literature about the importance of wearing a seat belt.''

Klopman said a child involved in a 30-mph crash could suffer the same injuries as a child dropped from a third-story window.

``Yesterday we stopped 401 cars in an hour, and the last car was the only one who had someone not wearing a seat belt,'' Klopman said. ``Someone was holding an infant on her lap. Some people think they can just hold on tight and brace themselves - and maybe they could in a 10-mph accident, but not going faster than that. It only takes a few seconds to buckle a seat belt, but it takes less than that to lose your life.''

When pulling over people for not wearing seat belts, officers say they've heard every excuse in the book. But they say there's no excuse for not complying with the law - tickets for failing to wear a seat belt come with a price tag of up to $271.

The reminder to buckle that belt will also be stressed this week in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, although neither city has plans for checkpoints.

Simi Valley Police Department spokesman Sgt. Bob Gardner said there aren't a lot of seat belt violations in his city.

Thousand Oaks traffic Sgt. Claude Robillard said his officers are always on the lookout for people violating the seat belt law. He hopes to stress to drivers that seat belts are not just important during the holiday weekend, but all the time.

``If it's a habit for the parent not to wear a seat belt, chances are it will become a habit for the children,'' Robillard said. ``That's the whole idea behind getting adults to comply. Collisions at 30 mph can be fatal. If you're belted in, there's more of a chance of survival.''

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3 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) L.A. County sheriff's Deputy Joseph Jakl talks to a driver during a seat belt check in Agoura Hills.

(2--Color) Phil Lucio of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department asks a motorist to pull over Tuesday during the seat belt check at Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Forest Cove Lane.

(3) (Ran in Conejo Edition only) Los Angeles County sheriff's intern Phil Lucio motions a driver forward during a seat belt check.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News