MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
A Division Of The
Department of Public Safety
Public Information and Education Division - PO Box 568 - Jefferson City, MO 65102
NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Capt. J. Tim Hull
Q9242012-1 (573) 526-6115
September 24, 2012
EMPHASIS: Click It 4 Life Seat Belt Campaign

Colonel Ronald K. Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, encourages motorists to adopt an attitude of “safety first” whenever they are behind the wheel. This year, traffic crash fatalities are currently nine percent higher when compared to the same time period in 2011. In Missouri, 63 percent of those killed were not wearing a seat belt in vehicles requiring restraints. Every fatality is someone’s friend, sister, brother, parent, or child. The sudden loss of a family member forever alters the lives of those who loved them.

“Last spring, when the fatalities were unusually high, we made the public aware of it,” said Colonel Replogle. “The public responded by paying attention to their driving and buckling up, while we increased our efforts in the areas of enforcement and education. As a result, the statistics dropped significantly. We are asking the public to continue working with us to make Missouri roadways safer.”

Over the next few weeks, the Patrol will use a Click It 4 Life seat belt campaign to bring attention to the importance of using them. Troopers will provide an informative leaflet with seat belt facts to drivers stopped during enforcement operations.

The chance of being in a traffic crash in your lifetime is virtually 100 percent. In Missouri, one person is killed in a traffic crash every 11.1 hours. A Missouri driver’s chance of being killed in a traffic crash if not wearing a seat belt is 42 times greater than that of a driver who is buckled up. Using the lap/shoulder belts cuts your chances of being killed or seriously injured in a crash 45-50 percent. For drivers involved in traffic crashes not killed or injured, 97.5 percent were wearing their seat belt at the time of the crash. Won’t you take three seconds and buckle up? You could save a life--including your own.

Of course, no matter how safely you drive, you can’t control other drivers. Thus, the Patrol encourages motorists to protect themselves from all types of hazardous drivers by making sure everyone in the vehicle is properly restrained in a seat belt or child restraint. Click It 4 Life!

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