Police Agencies Urge Motorists Buckle Up for Safety

Officers from Shelby Township and Utica police departments are among 155 departments in 26 counties across the state that are participating in Michigan's "Click It or Ticket" campaign.

The federally funded campaign is meant to reverse a decline in the state's seat belt use rate that declined since hitting an all-time high of 97.9 percent in 2009, according to the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. 

Officers across the state will be conducting safety belt enforcement zones during the next two weeks, including the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Additionally, there is an on-going advertising campaign highlighting, "Buckle-phobia."

"Seat belts are a genuine lifesaver," said Michael L. Prince, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), which coordinates the annual seat belt mobilization, in a release  "The approach may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but our message is serious."

Last year the state reported officers across the Michigan issued 8,125 seat belt citations and 213 child restraint citations during the seat belt enforcement period.

According to the Office of Highway Safety Planning, Michigan law requires all drivers and passengers 15 and younger in any seating position to be buckled up. Children must be in a car seat or booster seat until they are 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches tall.