A click saves lives

The Missouri Highway Patrol's participation in the national Click It or Ticket campaign is an attempt to increase the use of safety belts, which law enforcement officials credit with saving more than 13,000 lives each year in the United States.

The campaign begins Monday (Memorial Day) and continues through June 6. It is particularly interested in 18- to 34-year olds, the group in which safety belt use is lowest. In 2001, 64 percent of the 18- to 34-year-olds killed in passenger vehicle accidents in the United States were not wearing safety belts.

In Missouri in 2001, 466 people in the same age group were killed or sustained incapacitating injuries. Seventy-two percent of them were not in a safety belt.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department has received a $4,000 grant that will pay overtime for officers who have signed up to look for traffic violations and the use of seat belts and child restraints during the campaign.

In Missouri, police can stop a vehicle if they see a passenger 15 or younger is not wearing a safety belt. Officers cannot make a traffic stop specifically for a safety belt violation if the driver or passenger not wearing a belt is older than 15.

Buckle up, please, and save some lives.