The Iowa Department of Public Safety says as motorists take to the roads during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, Iowa law enforcement officials are urging everyone to “Buckle up.” Officers around the state will be out in force as part of the 2013 National “Click it or Ticket” seat belt enforcement mobilization, cracking down on motorists who are not wearing their seat belts, as well as other traffic violators. The enforcement effort runs May 20th through June 2nd.

In 2012, there were 364 traffic fatalities in Iowa, according to data from the DOT. 167 of those victims, or almost 46-percent, were not wearing their seat belts. For those killed in crashes at night, the percent of unbuckled motorists grew another 15.5-percent.

During a four-day Special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) in March 2013, 205 law enforcement agencies and 1,828 officer reported 16,922 traffic violations. 388 crashes were investigated, and 879 motorists were assisted.