A car darting into another lane, a sudden flat tire sending a vehicle off the road or a drunk driver going through a stop light. Unexpected incidents like these can cause a crash. There isn’t a way to predict every danger on the road but there is a way to stay safe if they occur: Wear a seat belt.
That’s why the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) coordinated the two weeklong Click It or Ticket extra enforcement campaign in May. Click it or Ticket is a nationwide campaign supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. During the campaign, officers, deputies and troopers issued 1,598 seat belt citations and 85 child restraint citations to drivers jeopardizing their lives or the lives of their young passengers.
“The vast majority of Minnesotans know that a seat belt and a properly used car seat or booster seat is the best way to protect your family from a deadly car crash,” said Mike Hanson, director of the OTS. “But sadly, there are still many who put themselves and their children at risk. For them, enforcement and education can prevent the worst from happening.”
Click It or Ticket campaign
OTS coordinated the extra enforcement campaign May 19 through June 1 with 266 agencies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provided campaign funding for overtime enforcement and awareness in support of the Toward Zero Deaths traffic safety program.
Highest number of seat belt citations
Twin Cities Metro Area
•St. Paul Police Department: 252
•Minnesota State Patrol (west metro district): 153
•Minnesota State Patrol (east metro district): 95
•Dakota County Sheriff's Office: 32
•Bloomington Police Department: 27
Greater Minnesota
•Minnesota State Patrol (Virginia district): 128
•Minnesota State Patrol (St. Cloud district): 111
•Minnesota State Patrol (Duluth district): 103
•Minnesota State Patrol (Brainerd district): 73
•Minnesota State Patrol (Detroit Lakes district): 57
Examples of stops
•A St. Paul police officer stopped a family for a seat belt violation and learned they were unsheltered. In place of a citation, the officer offered a free car seat and an education clinic. The family attended the clinic, resulting in the citation being dismissed without a fine.
•A Northfield police officer issued three citations for no seat belts and one for a child not in a proper car seat, all in the same vehicle.
•A Southlake Minnetonka police officer stopped a driver who was not wearing a seat belt. That person was then arrested for a drug-related driving while impaired violation.
Unbelted fatalities (2023 and 2024 numbers are preliminary)
•2024: 106
•2023: 79
•2022: 87
•2021: 110
•2020: 105