The Todd County Sheriff's Office will conduct enhanced Click It or Ticket seat belt patrols Oct. 9- 22, the state's first full-scale seat belt enforcement effort since Minnesota's primary seat belt law became effective June 9.

The primary law requires passengers in all seating positions—including the back seat—to be buckled up or seated in the correct child restraint. Law enforcement officers can stop and ticket motorists solely for seat belt violations, including unbelted passengers. A seat belt citation is $25, but add up to $110, with court and administrative fees in Todd County .

Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) reports during 2006- 2008 1,097 motorists were killed in crashes—539 were unbelted—and another 1,152 unbelted motorists were seriously injured. In Todd County, eight motorists were killed—five were not belted—and another eight unbelted motorists were seriously injured.

"These deaths and injuries are not only tragic reminders of the lives lost in our rural county, but should serve as a reminder to all Todd County citizens that traffic deaths due to seat belt non-use are preventable," says Todd County Sheriff Peter J. Mikkelson. "The state's primary seat belt law is intended to boost belt use compliance to prevent these needless tragedies."

Law enforcement will further focus their enforcement efforts toward special nighttime seat belt enforcement patrols. DPS 2006- 2008 data reports 277 motorists were killed during nighttime hours (9 p.m. - 3 a.m.) and of those killed 178 (64 percent) were not belted.

The Todd County Sheriff's Office is also concerned about belt use among teens and young adults—the groups least likely to buckle up and who are over represented in traffic deaths. Statewide each year, motorists ages 15- 29 account for 45 percent of all unbelted deaths, yet this group represents only 25 percent of all licensed drivers. Of these unbelted deaths, 80 percent occur in Greater Minnesota. This same age group accounts for 55 percent of all unbelted serious injuries— 70 percent occur in Greater Minnesota.

On Sept. 22, a rural Long Prairie teenager lost control of her car in rural Long Prairie and was ejected from the vehicle after it rolled in the ditch. The car came to rest on its wheels with the teen driver pinned completely underneath the car. It took a considerable amount of work by rescue personnel to safely remove the driver from under the car, at which time she was air lifted to the Hennepin Co Hospital due to her severe injuries. She was not wearing her seatbelt and her injuries would have been much less had she been wearing one. She is very lucky to be alive.

Around 400 law enforcement agencies statewide will participate in the effort coordinated by DPS as a component of the state's Toward Zero Death (TZD) initiative. TZD is a multiagency approach to address traffic issues regionally through enforcement, education, engineering and emergency trauma care.