Fredericktown, Missouri - Buckling up only takes seconds, but these seconds could save your life in a traffic crash.

Nearly one in four Missourians still fail to regularly wear their safety belts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Among those least likely to buckle up: young males, pickup truck drivers and their passengers, people who live in rural areas, and nighttime drivers.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Department and the Fredericktown Police Department announced Monday, May 12, 2008 they are joining with law enforcement May 19-June 1 for an aggressive national “Click It or Ticket” mobilization to crack down on Missouri’s safety belt law violators and to reduce highway fatalities. Missourians also will be reminded to buckle up through state and national advertisements.

Failure to wear a safety belt can be deadly. A driver involved in a 2007 Missouri traffic crash had a 1 in 32 chance of being killed if they were not wearing a seat belt. However, when a driver wore their seat belt, their chance of being killed was only 1 in 1,309.

“Safety belts clearly save lives. But unfortunately too may folks still need a tough reminder, so we are going to be out in force buckling down on those who are not buckled up,’’ Sheriff David Lewis says. “Unless you want to risk a ticket, or worse - your life, you need to remember ‘Click It or Ticket’ day and night and Arrive Alive.”

Fredericktown Police Chief John Wright said regular safety belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.

Nationally in 2006, 72 percent of passenger vehicle occupants involved in a fatal crash who were buckled up survived the crashes. When worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent - and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans. Yet, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly one in five Americans still fail to regularly wear their seat belts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle.

For more information on Missouri seat belt use, visit www.saveMOlives.com, and for more information on the national campaign, visit www.nhtsa.gov/link/ciot.htm. Also for more information on the national “Click It or Ticket” mobilization, visit www.buckleupamerica.org.