While Minnesota motorists are buckling up more than ever, unbelted motorists still account for nearly half of all traffic deaths. In an effort to reduce traffic deaths due to unbelted drivers, Scott County law enforcement agencies will conduct enhanced patrols Oct. 10-19 during a statewide Safe & Sober seat-belt enforcement sweep.

Local agencies involved in the enhanced enforcement include the Scott County Sheriff Office, and police departments in Shakopee, Prior Lake, Savage, New Prague, Jordan and Belle Plaine. About 400 agencies statewide will participate in the campaign administered by the state Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Officers will be participating in high-visibility enforcement of seat belt laws. Motorists can expect to see multiple squads from various agencies conducting enforcement patrols together in different locations throughout Scott County during the enforcement period.

A seat belt citation fine in Scott County is $110 but can be more with court and administrative fees.

During the period from 2005 to 2007 in Minnesota, there were 1,212 vehicle occupants killed in crashes and 614 were not wearing seat belts. Another 1,298 vehicle occupants were seriously injured because they were not belted. DPS estimates around half of those killed would have survived if they were belted.

Agencies will also conduct special nighttime seat belt enforcement patrols during the effort. According to DPS statistics from 2005 to 2007, there were 296 vehicle-occupant traffic deaths during nighttime hours (9 p.m.-3 a.m.) and 184 of the traffic crash victims — 62 percent — were not belted.

Another focus of the campaign is teens, the group with the lowest seat belt use compliance. During the 2005-2007 period in Minnesota, 149 motorists ages 16-19 were killed in crashes and 75 were unbelted.

“When teens ride together, it’s important someone speaks up and tells their friends to buckle up,” said Shakopee police officer Nicki Marquardt. “It’s that simple to potentially save someone’s life.”

The Safe & Sober effort is coordinated by the Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) as a component of the state’s Toward Zero Death initiative (TZD). TZD is a multi-agency approach to address traffic issues regionally through enforcement, education, engineering and emergency trauma care.