Buckle up. That's the message from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. According to the DPS, 93.4 % of Minnesota drivers buckle up when driving.
However, it's the remaining six percent who Office of Safety Director Mike Hansen is worried about.
"That remaining six percent who don't are so over represented in our crash statistics that we really need them to get on board with the rest of Minnesota," Hansen said. "Unbelted drivers and passengers make up roughly one third of all the fatalities in Minnesota, even though they are such a small percentage of the overall motoring public out there."
Over the past two weeks, Hansen said law enforcement officers around the state have given nearly 2,000 tickets for seat belt and child seat violations.
Hansen said a contributing factor is the belief that wearing a seatbelt is a personal choice.
"It's a personal choice, yes it is," Hansen says. "But if you don't have that seatbelt on, and that choice results in a severe injury or death, think of everyone else who is affected by it. Everyone has somebody who cares about them."
Hansen said wearing a seat belt and having a child in the right-sized seat is a state law, and drivers who skip the seat belt should expect to be stopped.
"I've spent a long career in law enforcement, I've seen a lot of crashes, and I can honestly say I have never seen a crash where a seatbelt either didn't or wouldn't have made a positive difference in the outcome," Hansen explains.
Related
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety released the followed information regarding its recent efforts to enforce the seatbelt laws:
Click it or Ticket campaign
· During the two-week seat belt campaign, which included extra patrols and awareness efforts, officers, deputies and troopers reported 1,805 seat belt citations and 73 child seat citations.
· 319 law enforcement agencies statewide participated in the Click It or Ticket campaign from Sept. 19-30.
· The campaign includes enforcement, education and awareness to influence smart seat belt choices.
Deadly decisions
· Unbelted deaths through Oct. 10 (80) continue to surpass last year at this time (78) and higher than this time in 2019 (54).
· Deadly unbelted decisions are also contributing to a preliminary overall traffic fatality figure of 380 compared with 313 reported in 2020 and 282 reported in 2019.
Campaign History
· In 2020, 307 agencies reported 2,664 seat belt citations and 64 child restraint citations.
· In 2019, 323 agencies reported 4,415 seat belt citations and 96 child restraint citations.
· In 2018, 319 agencies reported 4,610 seat belt citations and 140 child restraint citations.
Seat Belt Citations by Agency
· In the Twin Cities metro area, agencies with the most seat belt citations included:
· St. Paul Police Department 229
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2400 (Oakdale) 80
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2500 (Golden Valley) 71
· White Bear Lake Police Department 35
· Savage Police Department 33
· Ramsey County Sheriff's Office 29
· Anoka Police Department 23
· Richfield Police Department 22
· Minnetonka Police Department 21
· In Greater Minnesota, agencies with the most citations included:
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2700 (Duluth) 164
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2900 (Detroit Lakes) 139
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 3100 (Virginia) 65
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2100 (Rochester) 60
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2600 (St.
Cloud) 53
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2800 (Brainerd) 47
· Duluth Police Department 46
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2300 (Marshall) 46
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 3200 (Thief River Falls) 45
· Minnesota State Patrol - District 2200 (Mankato) 30
· Moorhead Police Department 28
· Houston County Sheriff's Office 21
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