Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement starts May 23
Three seconds — that’s all it takes to put on a seat belt. For 91 motorists in 2015, not taking those three seconds cost them their lives. Wearing your seat belt is not optional, it’s the law.
To continue enforcing the law and reminding motorists that seat belts save lives, the Glencoe Police Department, Winsted Police Department, Brownton Police Department and McLeod County Sheriff’s Office, along with more than 300 law enforcement agencies across the state, will be participating in the statewide Click It or Ticket campaign May 23-June 5. The extra enforcement and education campaign is coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety.
Protect yourself
Even the safest drivers in the world are not immune from others causing them to crash, and not wearing a seat belt can prove tragic.
• In the last five years (2011-2015), 527 unbelted motorists lost their lives and 1,035 people suffered life-changing injuries.
• Of the 1,379 motorists who lost their lives in the last five years, only 51 percent of them were known to be belted.
• In 2015, 77 percent of vehicle occupants who were ejected or partially ejected and died were not wearing a seat belt.
“If you are involved in a crash and are thrown from the vehicle, the likelihood of survival is slim,” said Officer Andrew Fiebelkorn of the Glencoe Police Department. “Protect yourself from dangerous drivers on the road by wearing your seat belt. It could save your life.”
For more, see the May 18 print edition of The Chronicle.