The annual Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement period runs from May 17 to June 6.
The national seat belt campaign runs concurrent with the start of the busy summer travel season with the goal of reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries.
“During the Click It or Ticket campaign, we’ll be working with our fellow law enforcement officers across the state to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers to buckle up,” said Berrien County Sheriff L. Paul Bailey. “We cannot overstate the importance of wearing a seat belt. It’s the law, but more than that, buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash.
“We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time. We see the loss of life. So often, it could have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt.”
According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, in 2019, 217 people killed in Michigan traffic crashes were not wearing a seat belt.
Men make up the majority of those killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In 2019, 65 percent of the 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed were men. Men also wear their seat belts at a lower rate than women do — 51 percent of men killed in crashes were unrestrained, compared to 40 percent of women killed in crashes. Young adults are also at a higher risk of being killed because of riding unrestrained.
In 2019, more than half of young adults 18 to 34 years old killed while riding in
passenger vehicles were not buckled up.
“If this enforcement period wakes people up to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll
consider our mission to be a success,” said Sheriff L. Paul Bailey. “If you know a friend or a
family member who does not buckle up, please ask them to consider changing their habits.
Help us spread this lifesaving message before one more friend or family member is killed.
“Seat belts save lives and everyone, children and adults in the front seat and back seat, need to remember to buckle up — every trip, every time.”
For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.
