Crime & Safety

Richfield Public Safety: May Means 'Click It or Ticket'

The Richfield Public Safety Department cracks down on seatbelt law violators.

Editor's Note: The following is a press release from the .

To prevent a repeat of the deadly spring in 2010, when a flurry of traffic crashes killed 11 people within four days, nine of which were not belted, Richfield, Edina, and airport police officers will increase "Click It or Ticket" seat belt patrols from May 23 to June 5.

The campaign includes nearly 400 Minnesota agencies working overtime patrols supported by federal dollars to increase seatbelt use and stop preventable traffic deaths. Each year in Minnesota, at least 200 unbelted motorists are killed. During 2007–09, more than 600 unbelted motorists were killed and more than 1,200 were seriously injured.

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According to Sgt. Matt Steen, a seatbelt is a motorist’s best defense in case of a crash. He notes that in rollover crashes, unbelted motorists are usually ejected from the vehicle. In most cases, the vehicle will roll over them. Often, unbelted motorists will crack teeth out on steering wheels or break their nose, and even slam into and injure or kill others in the vehicle.

“Seatbelt enforcement is important to stop preventable deaths or injuries,” Steen said. “While we would rather not cite anyone for the violation, we know that a ticket is usually what will convince people to start making the smart decision to always belt up.”

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Steen added that motorists need to be the first line of enforcing the law by speaking up and insisting that all passengers are belted.

Richfield officers will enforce the state’s primary seat belt law during the effort. The primary law requires passengers in all seating positions, including the back seat, to be buckled up or seated in the correct child restraint. Officers will stop and ticket unbelted drivers or passengers. A seat belt fine is $25 but can cost more than $103 with court and administrative fees.

The primary law has helped the state achieve a record-high daytime seatbelt compliance rate of 92 percent. In a recent pre-enforcement seatbelt observational survey in Richfield, 91 percent of motorists were belted. Richfield will conduct another survey following the enforcement to measure belt use.

The campaign will also include enforcement of Minnesota’s strengthened child passenger safety law that requires children to be in the correct restraint until they are age eight or 4 feet 9 inches tall, whichever comes first. This law requires booster seats for children usually starting at age four to ensure adult seatbelts fit them correctly.

The Richfield Public Safety Department is stressing belt use belt use especially among teens and young adults, the groups with the lowest seatbelt use rates. Statewide each year, motorists age 15–29 account for 45 percent of all unbelted deaths, yet this group represents only 25 percent of licensed drivers. This same age group accounts for 55 percent of all unbelted serious injuries—70 percent occur in Greater Minnesota.

The enforcement effort will also include a nighttime seatbelt enforcement focus. Each year, more than 60 percent of the nighttime fatalities (9 p.m. to 3 a.m.) are not buckled up.

“We enforce this law to save lives,” Steen said. “Far too often law enforcement and emergency responder resources are pulled away to address motorists’ injuries that wouldn’t have occurred had seatbelts been used.”


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