The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office is preparing to join hundreds of law enforcement agencies from across the state and around the country in the annual nationwide “Click It or Ticket” campaign.

The campaign focuses on the enforcement of seat belt laws to save lives, according to a press release issued by Baldwin Deputy Justin Seymour, assistant coordinator of the Central Region Traffic Enforcement Network with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

“With 18 percent of all Americans failing to buckle up regularly, it’s clear that far too many people still don’t take belt laws seriously,” Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee said. “Among some groups, especially young men, the unbuckled rate is especially high — and the fatal crash rate increases significantly at night. So look for us to be out on the streets day and night from mid-May through June 1 making sure that everyone is buckled up.”

Officially, the campaign kicks off on a local level May 19 and will run through June 1, according to Deputy Seymour.

In 2006, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 15,046 passenger vehicle occupants were killed between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. — with nearly two-thirds, or 64 percent, of those killed at night reported as not having worn seat belts.

“Worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of a fatal injury in a crash by 45 percent for front-seat passenger vehicle occupants and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans. In fact, data shows that more than three-quarters, or 77 percent, of passenger vehicle occupants who were in a serious crash in 2006 and were buckled up survived the crash,” Massee said.

The Click It or Ticket program on a local level will find many Baldwin County deputies at checkpoints on city, county and state roads, according to Seymour.

For more information on the “Click it or Ticket” campaign and to learn how you can both save your life and avoid a fine, visit www.nhtsa.gov.