In an effort to save more lives on Arizona’s roadways this month the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is partnering with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies to enforce Arizona’s seat belt and child safety seat laws.

Arizona presently conducts enforcement under a secondary seat belt law and a primary child safety seat law. The enforcement campaign is based upon high visibility traffic enforcement with a “zero-tolerance” approach toward seat belt and child safety seat usage.

As part of a the national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign, law enforcement agencies across the state will be stepping up traffic enforcement patrols and increasing other enforcement efforts to drive home the message: “Buckle Up Arizona…It’s the Law!”

Despite widespread efforts to educate drivers about the importance of wearing seat belts, motor vehicle collisions continue to be the leading cause of death and serious injuries to the citizens of our state. The enforcement mobilization will run through June 4, 2017.

Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. When worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about 50 percent. The proper and consistent use of child safety seats has been found to reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (younger than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars.

Properly installed booster seats reduce the risk for serious injury by 45 percent among children ages 4 to 8 years old.

Funding for the program was provided by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.