Make a plan, wear a seat belt, save a life

A seat belt. A car seat. Or, in the minds of first responders, a lifeline. Seat belts and child passenger safety measures save lives. That’s why there will be extra enforcement on the Minnesota roads

The Child Passenger Safety and seat belt extra enforcement campaign will run this Sept. 20-26. It’s funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and administered by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety. Nearly 300 hundred law enforcement agencies from across Minnesota provide extra traffic safety law enforcement overtime hours to save lives and prevent tragedy on the road. The campaign aims to raise awareness and get drivers to buckle up.

Buckle up: It can save a life

Although Minnesota continues to have a high rate of seat belt use, unbelted occupants still represent a large portion of traffic deaths. According to the 2025 observational seat belt survey, 95.2 percent of people on Minnesota roads wear a seat belt. Preliminary data shows 363 people died on Minnesota roads in 2025. Of those, 68 people were not wearing seat belts, about 20 percent of all fatal crashes in the state.

Buckle up: It’s the law

The law requires drivers and passengers to wear seat belts, and law enforcement can stop and ticket drivers and passengers for failing to buckle up. Seat belts should be worn tight and across the hips or thighs. Belts should never be tucked under the arm or behind the back.

Updated in 2024, Minnesota’s child passenger safety law also outlines requirements for car seats, booster seats and seat belts based on the child’s age, height and weight. Children should remain in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible and until they reach the height and weight limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer.

After outgrowing a rear-facing seat, children should use a forward-facing car seat with a harness before transitioning to a booster seat. Children must remain in a booster seat until they are 9 years old or until they have outgrown the booster seat and pass the five-step test. Children under 13 should ride in the backseat whenever possible. 

Resources

Additional seat belt and passenger safety information is available online:

• BuckleUpMN.org has seat belt information for employers and educators.
• DriveSmartMN.org has summaries of Minnesota law and passenger safety advice.
• Visit BuckleUpKids.dps.mn.gov for specific information on child passenger safety.