A reminder that seat belts save lives

For anyone who complains about getting a ticket for not buckling up when driving or riding in a motor vehicle, here’s a crash course in reality from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

Ÿ 33,808 people were killed on America’s roadways in 2009.

Ÿ Safety belts, when used by passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older, saved an estimated 12,713 lives in 2009.

Ÿ Motorists are 75 percent less likely to be killed in rollover crashes if they are buckled up.

While those may sound like just statistics, those of us in traffic safety and law enforcement know from personal experience that those numbers are the actual faces of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and friends here in Illinois. Too often we must tell families their loved ones would be alive if they had only worn a safety belt.

This goes to the heart of law enforcement’s mission to protect the public. That is why Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety is joining with over 500 local, county and state law enforcement agencies in supporting an aggressive national Click It or Ticket campaign from May 13-30.

The good news is we have seen unprecedented numbers of motorists buckling up over the past several years. In 2010, Illinois had an all-time high safety belt usage rate of 92.6 percent. But the tragic reality is that in our state 7 percent of the public is still not convinced that they need to buckle up every trip. So, it begins in your own town. Law enforcement will be out in force to show their dedication to eliminating this problem. We want 100 percent of motorists to buckle up. Buckling up costs you nothing, but the costs of not buckling up may be a ticket — or, worse, your life.

Robert Brasky

Traffic safety liaison

Cook and collar counties

IDOT