Drivers urged to buckle up

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging drivers to buckle up by taking part in the 2013 national “Click It or Ticket” increased patrols for seat belt and child safety seat enforcement.

The heightened enforcement effort will last from May 20 through June 2.

“We’d rather everyone choose to buckle up — not just to avoid the ticket, but to be safe and avoid serious injury or death,” Sheriff Chuck Curry said. “Our officers are prepared to ticket anyone not buckled up. No warnings and no excuses. Don’t risk it,”

Preliminary numbers from the Montana Highway Patrol show 79 percent of those killed in accidents thus far in 2013 were not wearing their seat belts.

The extra patrols are funded by the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program of the Montana Department of Transportation using money from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For more information on child safety seats and seat belt use, visit http://buckleup.mt.gov or http://plan2live.mt.gov.