Seat belt enforcement ramps up in May

Press release

Havre police are adding extra patrols to enforce seat belt laws May 18 through May 31.

Local officers are joining the Montana Highway Patrol and law enforcement agencies nation-wide to draw attention to seat belt use during the annual Click It Or Ticket campaign.

“We’ll be making traffic stops day and night to remind motorists that a seat belt is a life-saver,” said Havre Acting Chief of Police Gabe Matosich. “If you get a ticket for not using your seat belt, it’s because our officers know a citation might persuade you to start buckling up — which could save your life or prevent disabling injury,” Matosich said.

The annual seat belt enforcement mobilization is timed for the start of the summer driving season, when highway traffic starts to increase for the warm weather months. In Montana, the highest numbers of fatal crashes per month happen during the summer. Crashes in the four-month period from May through August have averaged 43 percent of all fatal and serious injury crashes for the year, based on totals from 2004 through 2013.

“Every year, crashes kill about 200 people. But the numbers also show that unrestrained fatalities have decreased in Montana — more people are buckling up and surviving,” said Matosich. “Our officers take pride in the fact that their year-round enforcement efforts are having an effect in saving lives.”

Data from the Montana Department of Transportation Fatality Analysis Reporting System show that, historically, at least 70 percent of vehicle occupant fatalities in Montana were unrestrained. In 2010, the number of unrestrained deaths dropped to 49 percent, and has averaged roughly 50 percent since then.

“The best thing you can do to protect yourself from other drivers or unexpected hazards is to use your seat belt properly,” said Matosich. “We’ll be out there to remind you.”

The Buckle Up Montana Coalitions in these areas and around the state will support law enforcement by providing seat belt education during May and throughout the summer.

“We will reach out to people in the community during May, with several presentations and messaging, to talk about the importance of protecting yourself and your family by buckling up, every trip, every time,” said Mary Owens, coordinator of the Hill County Buckle Up Montana Coalition.

“Everyone in Montana can be part of the effort to save lives and prevent injury through seat belt use,” Owens added.

Extra traffic safety patrols are funded by the Montana Department of Transportation. This and other enforcement and education campaigns are combined under #VisionZeroMT, the shared vision for zero deaths and zero fatalities on Montana roadways.