SPRING IS IN THE AIR AND SEAT BELT ENFORCEMENT IS ON THE ROADS

Ortonville Police Department
225 NW 3rd Street Ph: (320) 839-6161
Ortonville, MN 56278 Fax: (320) 839-3099
E-mail: Police@cityofortonville.org
MN ORI: MN0060100

Chief of Police: Patrol Officers: #14 Clinton Sova
Curtis D. Hormann #17 Jason Mork


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 8, 2009

SPRING IS IN THE AIR AND SEAT BELT ENFORCEMENT IS ON THE ROADS
Click It or Ticket Campaign Kicks Off May 18

Unbelted motorists account for nearly half of Minnesota’s traffic deaths each year. To counter this trend and stop preventable deaths and injuries, Ortonville Police Department officers will conduct enhanced seat belt patrols May 18–31 as part of a statewide Department of Public Safety (DPS) Safe & Sober — Click It or Ticket enforcement effort. A seat belt citation is $25 but can cost as high as $115 with court and administrative fees.

DPS 2006–2008 preliminary data reports in Big Stone County, one motorist was killed not wearing their seat belt. Another three unbelted motorists were seriously injured during this period. Statewide over the past three years, preliminary data shows 1,096 motorists were killed in crashes — 518 were unbelted — and another 1,151 unbelted motorists were seriously injured.
“Increased seat belt patrols are essential to preventing needless tragedies,” says Officer Jason Mork. “But enforcement can’t save lives alone — every motorist should insist their passengers buckle up to ensure a safe ride.”

A focus of the enforcement will be teens and young adults — the groups least likely to buckle up and overrepresented in traffic deaths. Statewide each year, motorists ages 15–29 account for 45 percent of all unbelted deaths, yet this group represents only 25 percent of all licensed drivers. Of these unbelted deaths, 80 percent occur in Greater Minnesota. This same age group accounts for 55 percent of all unbelted serious injuries — 70 percent occur in Greater Minnesota.

Ortonville Police Department will also conduct special nighttime seat belt enforcement patrols during the effort. DPS 2006–2008 preliminary data reports there were 276 vehicle occupant traffic deaths during nighttime hours and 169 of the traffic crash victims — 61 percent — were not belted.
In a similar seat belt enforcement effort in May of last year, Ortonville Police Department issued one seat belt citations.

Around 400 law enforcement agencies across Minnesota will participate in the enforcement effort coordinated by DPS as a component of the state’s Toward Zero Death initiative (TZD). TZD is a multi-agency approach to address traffic issues regionally through enforcement, education, engineering and emergency trauma care.

“To Serve and Protect”