Area police began increased patrols on Monday as part of a statewide enforcement campaign to encourage motorists to buckle up.

The latest “Click It or Ticket” campaign will run through June 1. Police will have additional shifts throughout the next week or so to specifically watch for traffic issues of all sorts, but especially seatbelt violations.

“Seatbelts save lives,” Police Capt. Dave McKichan said. “Since it became law, we’ve seen seatbelt use go up and traffic deaths go down. I think there’s a strong correlation there.”

McKichan said a pre-enforcement survey done at five locations with 500 drivers showed about 88 percent of those wore seatbelts. McKichan hopes police find every driver wearing seat belts in a post-enforcement survey.

“We would rather people wear seat belts because they know it will save them from death or serious injury,” he said. “You can’t control when that accident’s going to get you. You can’t do it. But, if you wear it because you don’t want to get a ticket, that works for us too.”

In the last five years on Minnesota roads, 1,423 people died in motor vehicle crashes, of which 587 were not wearing their seat belts, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety stated in the last five years, more than 40 percent of unbelted fatalities were between 15 and 29 years old. Nearly 64 percent of drunken drivers who were killed were not wearing a seat belt, and nearly 44 percent of people killed in crashes in Greater Minnesota were unbelted.

In Minnesota, drivers and passengers in all seating positions, including in the back seat, are required to be buckled up or seated in the correct child restraint. Seat belts should be worn low and snug across the hips, and shoulder straps should never be tucked under an arm or behind the back, according to the release.

Statute requires children under age 8 to ride in a federally approved car seat or booster, unless the child is 4 feet 9 inches or taller.

The Austin Police Department is among nearly 400 agencies increasing patrols through June 1.