The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety is joining with state and local law enforcement now through June 6 in the national “Click It or Ticket” enforcement campaign to highlight the importance of buckling up.
Along with wearing a seat belt, they want to remind motorists to slow down, put the phone down and never drive impaired.
For 2020, preliminary data indicates 428 individuals killed in Missouri traffic crashes were not wearing their seat belt. It is the highest number of unbuckled fatalities in Missouri during the last 5 years and an 18% increase from the year before. Seat belt use in Missouri has consistently risen over the last two decades, but in 2020, that momentum was stopped.
Missouri’s new strategic highway safety plan, Show-Me Zero, Driving Missouri Toward Safer Roads, identifies four key focus areas to help reduce traffic deaths, including the importance of seat belts, car seats, and motorcycle helmets. Other focus areas in the plan include distracted driving, speeding and impaired driving.