The Indiana State Police announced Wednesday its participation in the national and statewide Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization occurring Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May 31.

Officers will join more than 250 state and local law enforcement agencies, and thousands more across the country, to conduct high-visibility patrols encouraging drivers and passengers to buckle up.

“It’s a documented fact that wearing your seat belt increases your chance of surviving a crash by more than 50 percent,” said Captain David Bursten, chief public information officer for the state police. “While we prefer voluntary compliance, we want to remind drivers and their occupants, if we see you unbelted, expect to be stopped and just as the slogan says, click it or ticket.”

Click It or Ticket is an annual enforcement effort supported by federal funding allocated to the Indiana State Police from the Traffic Safety division of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. More than 200 troopers will be working overtime to conduct seat belt patrols on Indiana’s state roads and interstates. According to ICJI, in 2014, there were 748 fatalities on Indiana roadways. Of those fatalities, nearly one-third, or 29 percent, were unrestrained.

“While seat belt usage in Indiana passenger vehicles is over 91 percent, there’s still room for improvement,” said ICJI Director Mary Allen. “We know seat belt usage saves lives, and we are grateful for the participating agencies who are focusing efforts on increased education and enforcement to drive home this message.”

Indiana law enforcement agencies have been actively involved in the Click It or Ticket campaign for over 20 years.

For more information regarding the Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization campaign, please visit:http://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/ciot/index.html.