The Marshall Police Department will be joining with statewide law-enforcement agencies through June 6 for a statewide “Click It or Ticket” mobilization to step up enforcement on Missouri’s seat-belt law.

In 2020, 991 people were killed in traffic crashes on Missouri’s roadways. Sixty-seven percent of the vehicle occupants who died were not buckled up.

Missouri has experienced 158 traffic-crash fatalities so far in 2021, and 70 percent of the vehicle occupants killed were not buckled up.

In 2020, 66 teens (age 15-19) were killed in traffic crashes on Missouri’s roadways. Seventy-five percent of the vehicle occupants who died were not buckled up.

More than six out of 10 people killed in 2020 Missouri traffic crashes were unbuckled.

Authorities say even with all the advancements in automobile safety, a seat belt remains a person’s single greatest defense in the event of a crash.

Missouri’s seat-belt use has shown significant improvement in the last three years, but the state remains just below the national average in usage. Missouri has an 86.1-percent seat-belt use, while the national average is 90.7 percent. Teens and pickup truck drivers are among those least likely to buckle up at 75.5 and 71.6 percent, respectively.

Nearly every day someone dies in a Missouri traffic crash because they weren’t buckled up.

The Marshall Police Department will be pulling out all the stops to help ensure motorists are making the smart decision to buckle up.

For information on Missouri seatbelt usage, visit www.saveMOlives.com.