CALERA – Law enforcement agencies across the state will be taking part in the annual “Click It or Ticket” mobilization May 21 through June 3, cracking down on drivers and passengers who are not buckled up according to state law.

“Those who choose not to wear a seat belt will feel the heat during this campaign,” Chief Don Hyde, Jr. of the Calera Police Department, said, in a news release. “Motorists should buckle up every time they go out, both day and night – no warnings and no excuses.”

According to the National Highway Transportation Administration, seat belts save about 13,000 lives each year.

Oklahoma law requires drivers and front seat passengers age 13 and over to have a safety belt properly fastened at all times the vehicle is being operated. Children age 12 and younger are required to be properly restrained in the appropriate car seat, booster seat or seat belt, according to the child’s age and weight.

“We can’t make the decision to buckle up for you, and we hope it won’t take getting a ticket to help you remember to fasten that seat belt or buckle your child correctly,” Hyde said. “Unless you want to risk a ticket – or, even worse, your life – you must buckle up.”

In Oklahoma in 2010, 668 people died on Oklahoma roadways. Of the 479 people killed in passenger vehicles or pickup trucks, 55.7 percent (267) were not using a safety belt or child restraint.

For more information about Oklahoma’s occupant protection laws, visit www.ohso.ok.gov.