SEAT BELT USE REACHES 10-YEAR HIGH

The percentage of people buckling up reached a near all-time high of 94.7 percent this year when comparing data from 2010 through 2024.  This is the highest rate recorded since 2013 when it was 94.8-percent.  Young adults who are 16 to 29 years old, male occupants and pickup drivers are the three groups that are driving the increase.  Preliminary counts show 84 unbelted motorists died on Minnesota roads in 2023 compared with 87 in 2022 and 110 in 2021.  For perspective, in 1987 over 4100 vehicle occupants suffered severe injuries in traffic crashes.  That number was 1,285 last year.  A Click-It-Or-Ticket campaign starts Sunday and will go through Saturday, September 21.  Troopers, deputies and officers will participate in the campaign.  This is in support of the Toward Zero Deaths Traffic Safety program.