There's no excuse not to "Click-It" this Memorial Day weekend

The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) is reminding drivers before the Memorial Day holiday that there are a million excuses to not buckle up, but not one of them will save your life. Law enforcement across the state will have extra patrols from May 21 to June 3 for the Click It or Ticket campaign to enforce the state seat belt law. In addition, some agencies are participating in a 4-hour saturation on May 21 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. as a part of the “Border to Border” high visibility campaign, specifically enforcing seat belt use across the state. This enforcement period coincides with the release of NDDOT’s latest media campaign focusing on the importance of always wearing a seat belt called “A Million Excuses.”

In North Dakota, not wearing a seat belt continues to be the number one contributing factor of fatalities that result from motor vehicle crashes. In fact, in 2017, 55 percent of motor vehicle fatalities in North Dakota occurred because they were not wearing their seat belt. Seat belts continue to save lives, helping to reach North Dakota’s goal of “Vision Zero- Zero Fatalities. Zero Excuses.”

“It takes less than five seconds to buckle your seat belt,” says Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser. “But it is a life altering choice that could significantly impact the rest of your life and the lives of your loved ones. Always buckle up.”

The NDDOT wants to invite families and friends who have lost a loved to a motor vehicle fatality in North Dakota, to create memorials at ndcodefortheroad.org/memorial.