Police Target 7 Percent of Drivers Not Doing What They Should

State, county and local police in all 83 Michigan counties are on the lookout for seatbelt violations during the annual Click It or Ticket campaign that began Monday as Michiganders begin to think about taking off for the Memorial Day Weekend.

When seatbelts are properly used, the risk of being killed in a crash goes down by 45 percent, according to the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.

Michigan traffic deaths, which had been trending downward, jumped 10 percent last year, up from 876 in 2014 to 963 in 2015, according to information released earlier this month by the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center. Alcohol-involved, bicyclist, teen, and motorcyclist traffic deaths were all up more than 20 percent.

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Almost 200 of the 963 people who were killed in crashes on Michigan highways in 2015 weren’t wearing seatbelts, according to the data.

The Office of Highway Safety Planning is working with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute to identify factors that may have played a role in the increase in fatalities.

Melody Kindraka, a spokeswoman for the MOHSP, told WWJ that seatbelt law compliance is fairly high in Michigan, at 93 percent, but “that still means 7 percent of Michigan motorists are not buckling up.”

“That’s why we do this campaign,” Kindraka said. “We want to encourage people to be safe — especially during the busy summer travel season, kicking off on Memorial Day.”

Seatbelt fines are $65 for both drivers and passengers, and the fee increases to $105 if not paid within 14 days.