Summer travel season kicks off as Illinois seat belt law approaches 40.

The Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police and more than 200 law enforcement agencies throughout the state are participating in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s high-visibility “Click It or Ticket” campaign to stop seat belt law violators and impaired drivers. During the campaign, law enforcement will step up efforts to ticket unbelted motorists and arrest drivers impaired by alcohol, drugs or other substances.

“Make sure everyone in your vehicle, whether they’re in the front seat or back seat, is buckled up before hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend,” said Stephane B. Seck-Birhame, IDOT’s bureau chief of Safety Programs and Engineering. “Not only is a seat belt your best defense if you’re in a crash, wearing one is the law in Illinois.”

Forty years ago, Illinois became the third state to mandate seat belt usage, requiring drivers and front-seat passengers 8 and older to wear seat belts. 

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign comes in advance of the “100 Deadliest days of summer,” which historically marks an increase in fatalities between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The increase in traffic and behaviors associated with crashes that come during summer holiday weekends almost always correlate with an increase in fatalities. Last year’s Memorial Day weekend – the period from 6 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Monday – saw 18 crashes resulting in 19 deaths in Illinois.

94.1 WGFA