ST. PAUL – To remind motorists that seat belts save lives and it’s the law to buckle up, more than 300 law enforcement agencies across the state will be participating in the statewide Click It or Ticket campaign Sept. 17 – 29. The Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety (DPS-OTS) coordinates the extra enforcement and education campaign.

According to the 2018 Minnesota Seat Belt Survey, 92.4 percent of front seat occupants are wearing their seat belts. About seven percent of motorists need to take two seconds to click it and join the crowd to help themselves and others survive a crash. An unbelted motorist can crash into a windshield or get thrown into other passengers, injuring or killing them. Often times, an unbelted occupant is ejected from the vehicle and killed.

According to the DPS-OTS, in 2017:

• 78 unbelted motorists lost their lives on Minnesota roads;

• There were 1,215 life-changing injuries due to unbelted motorists;

• 76 percent of the unbelted deaths occurred in Greater Minnesota (outside the seven-county metro area); and

• 32 percent of all motor vehicle deaths involved unbelted occupants, compared with 30 percent in 2016.

The DPS-OTS also said that from 2013 – 2017 in Minnesota, 18 children (ages 0-7) were killed in motor vehicles and only nine of the victims were known to be properly secured (five were not properly restrained, and restraint use was unknown in four fatalities). Of the 83 children (ages 0-7) seriously injured in motor vehicles, only 47 percent of the victims were known to be properly secured.

In Minnesota, all children must be in a child restraint until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall or at least age 8, whichever comes first.

“Life is so unpredictable, but there’s an easy way to remove uncertainty, at least while you’re on the road: buckle up,” said Mike Hanson, Office of Traffic Safety director. “Until everyone chooses to wear their seat belts, that uncertainty about safety will never go away. Not for the driver, the passenger or the family waiting at home. We all need to expect the unexpected on the road and control what we can by simply buckling up.”

Minnesota law states that drivers and passengers in all seating positions must be buckled or seated in the correct child restraint. Officers will stop and ticket unbelted drivers or passengers. Seat belts must be worn correctly — low and snug across the hips, and shoulder straps should never be tucked under an arm or behind the back.