Lead-footed drivers beware.

The Mower County Sheriff’s Office was awarded a $3,000 radar gun for its efforts in the Toward Zero Deaths October Seat Belt Mobilization.

“There’s a lot of people that are alive today — I really believe this — because of what they’ve been doing,” said Brad Kollmann, law enforcement liaison for the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety.

Kollmann praised the Sheriff’s Offices for working to reduce traffic deaths in Mower County. About 70 percent of Minnesota’s traffic fatalities occur in rural areas, and many of those include people ages 16 to 24. Kollmann said about 50 percent of traffic fatalities could be prevented by wearing a seat belt.

From 2007 to 2009, there were eight traffic fatalities in Mower County. The impressive part, according to Kollmann, was that none were alcohol related. Typically, about 35 percent of traffic deaths are alcohol related, he said.

“It tells me there’s something happening besides just stupid luck,” Kollmann said.

Work is far from over, as Kollmann said distracted driving, caused by things like cell phones and mp3 players, is a growing concern.

Sheriff Terese Amazi said the new radar will replace an aging unit in one of the department’s squad cars.