Memorial Day big concern
Seat-belt and child-restraint violations will be the target May 19-June 1, as troopers, deputies and city police officers work together to save lives and prevent needless tragedies on Minnesota roadways during the annual May Click-It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign.
Since many of our crash injuries and fatalities involving the non-use of seat belts occur at night, about half of the enforcement hours can be expected to be held during the time period between 4 p.m. and 1 a.m. Minnesota’s seat-belt law is a primary offense, meaning you can get stopped for not being appropriately restrained.
Memorial Day will be a main focus time period, as it is in the top six dangerous holidays on our state roadways. Looking back from 2009- 2013, the Memorial Day holiday weekend was the deadliest of the holidays, with at least 31 deaths and more than 2,060 reported crashes.
According to Sgt. Jesse Grabow, regional public information officer, “This is nothing new we expect from our motorists, and everyone needs to work together to ensure a safer environment on our roadways, especially since we are certain seat belts save lives.”
Preliminary data provided by the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety shows in 2013 there were 94 deaths and 247 injuries where the vehicle occupant was not buckled up. That data also shows deaths of at least two children under the age of eight and seven more seriously injured – who were not properly restrained in a car seat.
These enforcement and education projects are components of the state’s Toward Zero Death initiative. A primary vision of the TZD program is to create a safe driving culture in Minnesota in which motorists support a goal of zero road fatalities by practicing and promoting safe and smart driving behavior. TZD focuses on the application of four strategic areas to reduce crashes — education, enforcement, engineering and emergency-trauma response. Local traffic safety coalitions strongly support these efforts.