Motorists in Suffolk are being urged to buckle up — or pay up. And the fine can run a grand in U.S. dollars, in the worst-case scenario.

The Suffolk Constabulary recently completed a safety patrol that netted 250 citations for failure to wear a seat belt, according to a constabulary press release.

In 2007, the constabulary issued about 12 tickets a day to motorists who weren’t wearing their seat belts, the release stated. During the recent sting, authorities issued 35 a day.

The patrols, part of the European seat belt enforcement campaign, found that 257 occupants failed to buckle their seat belts. The campaign ran from 6 a.m. Feb. 18 through 6 a.m. Feb. 24.

Putting on a seat belt “takes seconds and yet if you are in a crash at just 30 mph, you will be thrown forward with a force of between 30 and 60 times your body weight,” said Chief Inspector Martin Barnes-Smith in the release. Seat belts “reduce this force and consequently the risk of serious injury or death.”

“I find it difficult to understand why, when faced with these facts, people continue to ignore this advice. Wearing a [seat belt] is an absolute must and can save your life and the lives of others.”

Failure to buckle a seat belt can carry a fine of up to 500 pounds ($1,000), the release stated.

Last year, Suffolk authorities issued 4,446 motorists a fine for not wearing a seat belt.

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