"Click it or Ticket" Seat Belt Campaign Nabs 9,300 Violators in Minnesota

According to the Associated Press, Minnesota law enforcement officers issued roughly 9,325 tickets to motorists not wearing seat belts during the two-week "Click It or Ticket" campaign that ran from May 21 to June 3.

With fines and fees amounting to more than $100 for each seat belt violation, the boost to the state's coffers as a result of the campaign will be significant, not to mention the anticipated positive impact on improving driver safety and saving lives.

The AP reports that, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, 373 people were killed in automobile accidents in Minnesota last year; 194 of them were not wearing seat belts. The Department estimates that half of those killed would have survived had they been properly buckled up.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the chances of being killed at night in an automobile accident are three times higher than during daytime hours. Nighttime is also when seat belt use declines significantly. In 2005, more than 15,000 automobile occupants died in traffic accidents during nighttime hours, and 59 percent of those killed were not wearing seat belts. As a result of these findings, the 2007 "Click It or Ticket" campaign focused on nighttime driving hours, between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

The NHTSA also focused on teenage drivers by notifying school administrators of the campaign and soliciting their help in making students aware of the "Click It or Ticket" campaign and reminding them to buckle up. According to the NHTSA, more than 3,000 teens, 15 to 18 years old, were killed in automobile accidents in 2005. More than half of them were not wearing a seat belt.