Buckle Up! Click It Or Ticket Campaigns Have Begun In Minnesota and Wisconsin

The Click It Or Ticket campaigns have begun in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, which means there will be extra law enforcement out now through June 4 to make sure motorists are wearing their seat belts.  This is a component of both state’s Toward Zero Deaths program, with goal of zero road fatalities. 

Statistics show that wearing your seat belt does improve your chances of becoming a fatality on the road.  In Minnesota, the numbers are promising:

• According to the 2016 Minnesota Seat Belt Survey, 93 percent of front seat occupants are wearing their seat belts.
• Severe injuries are also going down. In 1987, there were 4,176 vehicle occupants who suffered severe injuries in traffic crashes. That number dropped to 745 in 2015.

If you choose to not buckle up, perhaps these stats will change your mind:

• In 2015, 91 unbelted motorists lost their lives on Minnesota roads.
• In 2015, 87 percent of the unbelted deaths occurred in Greater Minnesota (outside the seven-county Metro area).

Also, please make sure all children are properly secured in your vehicle.  Here are the children's seat belt laws:

• In Minnesota, all children must be in a child restraint until they are 4’9” tall, or at least age 8, whichever comes first.
• Rear-facing child seats - Newborns to at least 1 year and 20 pounds; recommended up to age 2. It is safest to keep a child rear-facing as long as possible.
• Forward-facing seats - Age 2 until around age 4. It's preferable to keep children in a harnessed restraint until they reach the maximum weight limit.
• Booster seats - Use after outgrowing a forward-facing harnessed restraint; safest to remain in a booster until 4 feet 9 inches tall, or at least age 8, whichever comes first.
• Seat belts - Use when children can sit with their back against the vehicle seat and have their knees bent comfortably over the edge with their feet touching the floor.

Safe travels!