It's been decades since Greg Johnson of Edina, Minn., was deliberate about putting on his seat belt, rather than buckling up on instincts his mother ingrained in him back in the 1970s. He had been in college back then, and his mom reminded him each time he left. After his experience earlier this year, he's glad he listened.

“Somewhat grudgingly, you did it as a kid, then it becomes such a pattern that you don't even think about it. You push the button to turn the ignition on and the next thing you know you're putting on your seat belt. It's just a habit," Johnson said.

Johnson was grateful for those instincts last May when he was able to walk away from a crash that flipped his vehicle upside down.

The crash happened at the intersection of American Boulevard and Penn Avenue in Bloomington. Johnson was headed west when he stopped at the stoplight before the light changed, and he proceeded through the intersection. About halfway through, he spotted another vehicle in the corner of his eye. It was going fast, and he wasn't sure the driver would be able to stop. The next thing he knew, the driver had run the light, T-boning his Honda CR-V.​

“It happened so fast, and all of a sudden my car ended up on its roof," Johnson said.​​​​​​​

The driver had been distracted for just a moment while she and her passenger looked toward a coffee shop on the corner.

As Johnson dangled from the ceiling, held in place by his seat belt, he remembers being glad he had it on. It kept him in place as his vehicle rolled and stopped him from landing on his head. Instead, he had a sore wrist and a few shallow cuts from broken glass.

“That was the extent of it, and it has been the extent of it, thankfully," Johnson said.

Johnson credits his seat belt for saving him from a serious injury. Seat belts are the first line of defense in a crash, but they only work if they are used properly. Fifty-seven unbelted people have died on Minnesota's roads so far this year through Oct. 1. There are signs of improvement in unbelted fatalities, but even one life lost in a crash is one too many.

That's why OTS worked with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and law enforcement agencies across Minnesota last month for a Click It or Ticket Campaign, aimed at making sure people are properly using their seat belts and buckling their children into their vehicles.

“Reach, pull, click. Take two seconds to do that with your seat belt and you increase your chances of surviving a crash," said OTS Director Mike Hanson. “For a young child, they trust you to be the responsible adult and make sure they're properly restrained as well. It's the most loving and ​caring decision you'll make in that moment."

During the week-long campaign, officers, deputies and troopers from 278 agencies issued 1,125 seat belt citations and 39 child restraint citations.

Learn more about seat belt and child restraint safety at DriveSmartMN.org and BuckleUpKids.dps.mn.gov.​​