Click It or Ticket campaign will involve extra enforcement on Minnesota roads to promote seat belt usage

ST. PAUL— One minute it’s a routine drive, the next it’s a crash that changes everything. Before putting the car into drive, it’s worth taking the extra second to make sure everyone’s buckled up. For first responders and crash survivors the message is simple: seat belts save lives.

To help protect motorists, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) is coordinating a Click It or Ticket enforcement and awareness campaign May 19 to June 1. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides campaign funding for overtime enforcement and awareness in support of the Toward Zero Deaths traffic safety program. Troopers, deputies and officers will be spending extra time trying to prevent unsafe seat belt and car seat decisions from risking lives.

“Don’t underestimate the power of wearing your seat belt properly and securing children in a car seat. It will save a life,” said OTS Director Mike Hanson. “If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your children. When they see you modeling safe behavior, they will do it too. If everyone did this last year, more than 100 families would still be whole.”

National and state data shows that proper seat belt use and car seat installation saves lives. Nearly 95 percent of Minnesotans wear their seat belt, but unbelted riders and drivers make up more than 20 percent of all traffic fatalities.

Buckle up: It can save a life

• From 2019 to 2024:
  • Of children ages 0 to 9 involved in crashes, only 68 percent were known to be properly secured.
  • Of those children who were properly secured, 87 percent were not injured, and 12.6 percent sustained only minor injuries.
  • During that time, 29 children ages 0 to 9 were killed in motor vehicle crashes. Of those, only 14 (slightly less than half) were known to be properly secured.
• In Minnesota in 2024, there were 476 traffic fatalities. Of those, 106 were not wearing a seat belt.

Buckle up: It’s the law

• Law enforcement can stop and ticket unbelted drivers and passengers.
• Belts should be tight and across the hips or thighs. Belts should never be tucked under the arm or behind the back.
• Minnesota’s updated Child Passenger Safety Law provides new guidance for car seats, booster seats and seat belts.
• Instead of just relying on the child’s size, the law specifies ages for rear- and forward-facing car seats, booster seats and seat belts (subject to weight and height depending on the child seat manufacturer).
  • Children must be in a booster seat until they are 9 years old or have outgrown the booster seat and pass the 5-step test.
  • Children under 13 years old must sit in the back seat if possible.

Resources

• BuckleUpMN.org
• DriveSmartMN.org
• BuckleUpKids.dps.mn.gov

About the Minnesota Department of Public Safety

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s more than 2,100 employees operate programs in the areas of law enforcement, crime victim assistance, traffic safety, alcohol and gambling, emergency communications, fire safety, pipeline safety, driver licensing, vehicle registration and emergency management. DPS activity is anchored by three core principles: education, enforcement and prevention.

About the Office of Traffic Safety

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) designs, implements and coordinates federally funded traffic safety enforcement and education programs to improve driver behaviors and reduce the deaths and serious injuries that occur on Minnesota roads. These efforts form a strong foundation for the statewide Toward Zero Deaths traffic safety program. OTS also administers state funds for the motorcycle safety program, child seats for needy families program, school bus stop arm camera project and oversees the funding for the Advisory Council on Traffic Safety.