Phoenix, AZ, Sept. 16, 2009. Members of state and local law enforcement agencies are making a special, life-changing commitment this fall to help save more lives on Arizona roadways by stepping-up enforcement and reminding all drivers and passengers to Click It or Ticket.

This special crackdown taking place during September marks the first of what will be many aggressive seat belt enforcement waves across Arizona designed to increase seat belt use and decrease fatalities from motor vehicle crashes.

Seat belts, when properly used, are 45 percent effective in preventing deaths in potentially fatal crashes and 50 percent effective in preventing serious injuries. No other safety device has as much potential for immediately preventing deaths and injuries in motor vehicle crashes.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety, and other agencies throughout the state, will be conducting special enforcement operations targeting seat belt and child restraint violations. These operations, funded by the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), will be focused on promoting increased seat belt and child restraint usage through an extensive media campaign, stepped-up enforcement of seatbelt and child restraint laws, and pre-operation/post-operation studies to help determine their effectiveness.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety, in Maricopa County, will participate in three separate, one-week long enforcement waves. The enforcement waves will be conducted:

*September 26, 2009 through October 2, 2009

*February 27, 2010 through March 5, 2010

*September 25, 2010 through October, 1, 2010

The Arizona Department of Public Safety wants to remind everyone that seatbelts save lives. Unless you want to risk a ticket, or worse – your life, please remember to always Click It or Ticket, day and night.