May 21, 2007

Motorists will be hard-pressed to drive on Michigan roadways during the next two weeks without seeing "signs" of safety belt enforcement, as the annual massive, statewide belt enforcement effort kicks off today to ensure motorists make the life-saving decision to buckle up - both day and night.

The Buckle Up or Pay Up, Click It or Ticket safety belt enforcement mobilization runs May 21 - June 3 and includes the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) is providing federal traffic safety funds for local law enforcement agencies, sheriff's offices and Michigan State Police posts in 55 of the state's 83 counties to conduct safety belt enforcement zones during the two-week period. No state funds are supporting this campaign.

More than 800 safety belt enforcement zones are being conducted by nearly 200 agencies during the two-week period, an effort similar to last year's enforcement blitz.

While the state's 94.3 percent belt rate is second in the nation, crash reports indicate that as the sun goes down, so does belt use. Crash forms consistently indicate that safety belt use in Michigan falls dramatically between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. In 2006, 107 vehicle occupants - mainly men - died unbelted in nighttime crashes.

"Despite the incredible traffic safety successes Michigan has experienced over the last several years, nearly 600,000 motorists still fail to buckle up," said Michael L. Prince, OHSP director. "This enforcement effort is an attempt to prevent the tragic and needless deaths that occur each year because some people choose not to buckle up."

Sixty-three agencies in 11 counties are taking part in a special pilot project on May 24 to increase belt use during the late evening and early morning hours. During these patrols in Genesee, Kalamazoo, Kent, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Saginaw, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, officers will place special emphasis on looking for and ticketing unbelted motorists.

The following 55 counties will set up safety belt enforcement zones from May 21-June 3: Allegan, Alpena, Barry, Bay, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Clinton, Delta, Dickinson, Eaton, Emmet, Genesee, Gogebic, Grand Traverse, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Iron, Isabella, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kent, Lapeer, Leelanau, Lenawee, Livingston, Mackinac, Macomb, Marquette, Mason, Menominee, Midland, Monroe, Montcalm, Muskegon, Oakland, Oceana, Ogemaw, Otsego, Ottawa, Roscommon, Saginaw, Sanilac, Schoolcraft, St. Clair, St. Joseph, Shiawassee, Van Buren, Washtenaw, Wayne and Wexford.

Increased safety belt use is the most effective way to reduce the risk of death or injury in a traffic crash. Research shows that lap/shoulder belts, when used properly, reduce the risk of being killed in a crash by 50 percent. When Michigan's belt use rate rose to 94.3 percent last year, traffic fatalities fell 4 percent to 1,084, the lowest number since World War II.

Last year, 18 people died over the Memorial Day holiday period, the highest number in a five-year period. Five of those who died were not buckled up. Michigan law requires all drivers and front seat passengers to be buckled up and children under age 4 to be in an approved child safety seat. It also requires passengers 15 and younger to be buckled up in all seating positions.

A daily listing of planned safety belt enforcement zone times and locations can be found at www.michigan.gov/ohsp.