GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In order to get more drivers to buckle up behind the wheel, police are launching a new campaign today that is aimed at helping drivers who have “buckle-phobia.”
It’s a fictitious condition characterized as the fear of wearing seat belts, and it’s part of the campaign. For two weeks, local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and Michigan State Police posts will have federally funded safety belt enforcement zones across 26 counties in the state through Memorial Day weekend.
According to the Office of Highway Safety Planning, Michigan led the country in seat belt use in 2008 and 2009, but over the last three years, the number of drivers buckling up has declined, and almost 7% of drivers don’t wear seat belts.
OHSP says that the risk of a driver dying in a car crash is lowered by 45% when wearing a seat belt.