Minnesotans are buckling up at a record-high of 90 percent, but Mower County drivers have failed to follow suit.

The county is listed among those with the highest percentage of unbelted fatalities from 2006 to 2008, according to data released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS).

“It is very unfortunate that these fatalities continue to occur, because they don’t have to,” Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi said.

Mower County is in company of six south central counties that combined for 59 passengers killed, of which 59 percent were not buckled up.

Five of the eight killed vehicle occupants in Mower County from 2006 to 2008 were not wearing seat belts.

The same goes for Faribault and Martin counties. Eight of fifteen deaths were unbelted in Freeborn County, seven of 13 in Steele and five of Seven in Waseca, the DPS said.

“If you are using all of the safety equipment in your vehicle, chances of surviving even a serious crash are extremely heightened, but if you leave out one feature, such as a seat belt, fatalities occur,” Sheriff Amazi said.

All counties identified in the report as having an above average number of unbelted deaths are in Greater Minnesota — south central, central and north central pockets.

Though Mower County is about 30 percent below the state average, central Minnesota had the highest percentage of unbelted passenger deaths of any region in the state, according to the DPS.

In Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison and Todd counties, of 34 people killed, 75 percent were not wearing seat belts.

North-central Minnesota had 52 deaths in Aitkin, Beltrami, Cass and Itasca counties and 63 percent were not belted.

Individual counties with high unbelted percentages included Pennington, where all five people killed weren’t wearing seat belts, Red Lake, where all four weren’t wearing seat belts, Renville, six of eight were not, Wright, 22 of 34 were not, Clay, 10 of 15 were not, and Carlton, six of 10 were not.

“Regardless of our record-high seat belt use rate, it’s clear far too many motorists are still traveling not buckled up and are paying the ultimate price,” said Cheri Marti, director of DPS Office of Traffic Safety.

Counties with the lowest percentage of non-seat-belted fatalities were Carver (eight of 22 deaths), Chisago (eight of 23), Douglas (six of 21), Lyon (three of nine), Otter Tail (three of 10), Scott (eight of 26), Sherburne (five of 16) and Wabasha (two of eight).

In the metro were Anoka (43-23), Dakota (46-18), Hennepin (102-40), Ramsey (37-19) and Washington (30-10).

The figures were released Thursday as Minnesota law enforcement agencies are participating in the “Click-It or Ticket” campaign through Oct. 22. A state law that went into effect in June made it a primary offense to not wear a seat belt. Law enforcement can stop motorists solely for seat belt violations.