Patrol seat belt effort is under way

As the weather warms up and more people begin to hit the roadways, the potential for accidents increases. The simple act of wearing a seat belt could be the difference in walking away from an accident.

Area and state law enforcement hopes to increase those odds for any and all people on North Dakota roads as they join the national "Click it or Ticket" mobilization by ramping up seat-belt enforcement across the state.

Click it or Ticket is a two-week effort that started on Monday and runs through May 31. The North Dakota Highway Patrol is maintaining a more visible presence on area roadways as they work overtime during this period. The Patrol is watching and aggressively enforcing seat belt laws during what is typically the first major traveling period for motorists of the summer -- Memorial Day weekend.

Capt. Alan Billehus of the North Dakota Highway Patrol Williston District Office said there are nine officers from the area on the roads in the coming weeks. He said they are working to make sure people are buckling up and being safe throughout the day and over the holiday weekend.

"We're dedicating the extra hours to looking for people who aren't buckling up. It's just a good concerted effort to keep people safe and it's good to get people in the mindset," said Billehus.

Billehus said the fine for not wearing a seat belt is $20 for people 18 and over and $25 for not having infants, small children or passengers ages 17 and under buckled up properly. He said they do see an increase in tickets during this stretch because of the extra effort looking for violations. But overall, an increase in the number of people wearing their seat belts in North Dakota is promising.

"We've seen a statewide increase in the number of seat belt usage. A lot of people are doing the right thing," said Billehus.

Billehus said although a majority of people buckle up, there is that minority who rush and forget to put it on or don't bother thinking they're only going a short distance to run an errand or go to work.

"You never know when you're going to be in an accident. Anything can happen between your home and where you're going, no matter how short the distance. It's really just a simple thing to do," said Billehus.

Billehus said he's heard if you have someone do something daily for about two weeks, it can become a habit. He said wearing a seat belt also could become a habit if done long enough.

"I don't know if there's any correlation between the two weeks of this campaign and that, but we just hope it makes people get the message," said Billehus.

Troopers are joining with over 12,000 state and local law enforcement agencies across the country for the Click it or Ticket campaign. Funding for this operation is being provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

As of Wednesday, 33 people have died this year in North Dakota traffic accidents. Of those, 20 fatalities were not wearing seat belts.

In the last four years over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, 10 people have died on North Dakota highways.