Over 1,000 citations issued in ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has revealed the number of citations issued in 2024 for its “Click It or Ticket” campaign.

According to the department’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), the statewide campaign resulted in 1,084 citations, 1,036 for seatbelts and 48 for child restraints from Sept. 15-21.

257 agencies issued citations in this year’s campaign, and several agencies did not need to issue any citations during the week-long event.

Compared to previous years, the number of seat belt citations has continued to go down:

• 2023: 278 agencies reported 1,125 seat belt citations and 39 child restraint citations
• 2022: 281 agencies reported 1,164 seat belt citations and 27 child restraint citations.
• 2021: 319 agencies reported 1,805 seat belt citations and 73 child restraint citations.

While the number of seat belt citations went down, the number of child restraint citations has continued to rise from last year.

The St. Paul Police Department issued 140 seatbelt citations and 7 child restraint citations in 2024, the highest of participating agencies.

Other statistics from the OTS found the number of unbuckled seatbelt fatalities had gone up to 78 as of September 29, 2024, after last year’s 57. The deaths are the second-most amount of deaths in the last five years, with 2021 being the most with 80.