Editor's Note: The following Letter to the Editor was provided to Patch via Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb.

Dear Editor,

Traffic deaths in Wisconsin so far this year have increased compared with the same time last year. Tragically, in all too many of these recent deadly crashes, the drivers and passengers may have survived if they had been buckled up.

It is a proven fact that wearing a safety belt will effectively protect you from being ejected from a vehicle or thrown around violently inside during a crash and possibly hitting another vehicle occupant with massive force. Wearing a safety belt at all times is common sense, so it’s hard to understand why approximately one out of five motorists in our state does not buckle up.

To increase safety belt use, law enforcement officers throughout Wisconsin will be patrolling city streets, rural roads, and major highways—day and night—during the Click It or Ticket mobilization from May 21 to June 3. The Click It or Ticket message is clear—whenever officers observe an unbelted driver or passenger, they will stop the vehicle and issue tickets.

The ultimate goal of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and our traffic safety partners is to reduce the number of preventable traffic deaths to “Zero in Wisconsin.” To achieve this life-saving goal, all of us in Wisconsin need to buckle up every time we drive or ride in a vehicle.

Mark Gottlieb
Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation