WEB EXTRA: OHP trooper discusses state Click It or Ticket campaign

As the Oklahoma Highway Patrol ramps up enforcement of the Click It or Ticket Campaign, troopers are sharing why buckling up can not only save you from a citation, but also save your life.

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OHP Trooper Mark Southall says each year, OHP ramps up enforcement of the Click It or Ticket campaign.

With Oklahoma being in the lower rankings when it comes to seatbelt usage, Southall says buckling up is as important as it has ever been.

"We rank 43rd in seatbelt usage, which is very low, something that we're not proud of," Southall said.

Southall said with Memorial Day right around the corner, as well as the associated rise in the number of drivers on Oklahoma roadways, OHP is placing special emphasis on keeping travelers safe.

"It's our goal throughout the year, but with a special emphasis this time of year, to increase seatbelt usage," Southall said. "Memorial Day is kind of the beginning of the summer, it's really when we start to see a lot of fatalities."

Southall also saysdespite making up a small number of Oklahoma drivers, around 15%, unbuckled drivers make up over half of all deaths related to crashes.

"What we see is 85% of the people in Oklahoma wear seatbelts, which means 15% of them don't wear seatbelts," Southall said. "The statistics show that over half the fatalities that we have every year are people not wearing their seatbelts, so that 15% that don't wear seatbelts make up more than half of the fatalities that we see in Oklahoma."