The Hancock County Sheriff's Office will join local and national law enforcement officers and highway safety advocates all across the country for the 2011 national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization, May 23-June 5.

During the mobilization, officers will be cracking down on motorists who fail to wear their seat belts - both day and night.

Because nighttime passenger vehicle occupants are among those least likely to buckle up and most likely to die in crashes when unrestrained, nighttime enforcement has become a priority of the Click It or Ticket mobilization. Of those who died in nighttime crashes in 2009, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) were not wearing seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes.

In 2009, 11,593 passenger vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle crashes nationwide between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In 2009 there were nine fatal crashes in Hancock County, one death of driver not wearing proper restraints. So for in 2011, Hancock County has handled two fatal crashes.

High-visibility enforcement such as the Click It or Ticket mobilization is credited with increasing the national belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to an observed usage rate of 85 percent in 2010. Belt use saves thousands of lives each year across America. In 2009 alone, seat belts saved 12,713 lives nationwide. The September, 2010 seat belt survey in Hancock County showed a usage rate of 90.5%

Law enforcement will be cracking down on Click It or Ticket violators around the clock. Local motorists should be prepared to buckle up. If law enforcement finds you on the road unbuckled anytime or anywhere, you can expect to get a ticket - not a warning. No excuses and no exceptions. Overtime within the sheriff's office for this event is provided through a grant from the Ohio Traffic Safety Office.