MIDLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT ENCOURAGES SEATBELT USAGE DURING SUMMER ENFORCEMENT CAMPAIGN

The Midland Police Department is encouraging local residents to start the summer off safely by buckling up this Memorial Day.

The Midland Police Department is joining more than 500 Michigan law enforcement agencies in a crackdown on unbuckled motorists as part of the national Click It or Ticket mobilization effort, set for May 23 – June 5, 2005. This is an all-out effort to encourage use of the single-most effective piece of equipment for preventing injuries and death during traffic crashes.

Along with the Midland Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan State Police, Midland Police will monitor activity in various seatbelt enforcement zones each day of the campaign, at the following locations:

Date	Start Time	Enforcement Location
May 23	11:00 a.m.	Saginaw (from Eastlawn to Dartmouth)
May 24	7:00 a.m.	Eastman (from Commerce to Joe Mann)
May 25	12:00 p.m.	Saginaw (from Stark to Wackerly)
May 26	7:00 a.m.	Poseyville (from Stewart to Miller)
May 27	12:00 p.m.	Isabella (from Five Mile to M-30)
May 28	7:00 a.m.	Jefferson (from Wheeler to Chapel)
May 29	12:00 p.m.	Saginaw (from St. Andrews to Manor)
May 30	7:00 a.m.	Waldo (from Ashman to Eastlawn)
May 31	12:00 p.m.	Buttles (from George to Haley)
June 1	7:00 a.m.	Patrick (from Washington to Jefferson)
June 2	12:00 p.m.	Meridian (from Saginaw to US10)
June 3	7:00 a.m.	Saginaw (from Sturgeon Creek to Perrine)
June 4	12:00 p.m.	Wackerly (from Eastman to Jefferson)
June 5	12:00 p.m.	Saginaw (from Center to Oak)

The State’s mandatory safety belt law requires that driver and front seat passengers be buckled up, and that children under the age of four be in an approved child safety seat. It also requires that passengers ages 15 and under wear seatbelts in front or rear seating positions. In addition, drivers or passengers who have a shoulder harness placed under their arm or behind their back can be ticketed for failure to properly buckle up.

According to statistics from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, there are more traffic fatalities during the summer months than at any other time of the year. A goal of the Click It or Ticket campaign is to have the safest summer on record by saving at least 13 lives and avoiding numerous injuries that can occur in Michigan during the summer months. Increased seatbelt use and fewer motorists driving under the influence of alcohol will help achieve that goal.

Seatbelt enforcement campaigns like Click It or Ticket contribute to the Midland Police Department’s aim of increasing seatbelt usage to at least 91 percent.

For additional information on these or other Midland traffic concerns, contact the police department’s Traffic Safety Team at 989-839-4714.