MICHIGAN - The Michigan Office of Highway Safety launched its Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign on Nov. 9.

The campaign serves to reinforce using a seatbelt whenever in the car to decrease the risk of car accident fatalities.

Michael Prince, the OHSP director, said that three out of four people ejected from a vehicle in a crash will die. Seatbelts can prevent this by reducing vehicle-related risks.

“Statistics will show that you are significantly more likely to suffer an injury, or even death, if you are involved in a motor vehicle crash,” said Lt. Grillo of Meridian’s Police Department. “We talk about wearing your mask, we talk about social distancing, wearing your seatbelt is as equally as important as those things.”

Throughout the month, Michigan police officers will be paying extra attention to ensure that people are wearing their seatbelts while operating or riding in their cars.

“We will have officers out. Sometimes they are in plain clothes, sometimes they’re in unmarked vehicles watching for people who are not wearing their seatbelts, and if they are stopped for that, we will take enforcement action,” said Grillo.

The enforcement action taken will be a ticket, which is a civil infraction. No points will be added to the license, but Grillo said that these tickets usually cost somewhere around 60 dollars.

The Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign will go on throughout the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and wrap up on Nov. 29.