St. Paul accounts for a quarter of seatbelt violations in statewide enforcement campaign

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - During a seat-belt enforcement campaign across the state of Minnesota, more than 2,000 citations were issued and about a quarter of them were issued in the city of St. Paul. 

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the Click It or Ticket campaign, which ran from May 24 to June 6, yielded 2,070 seat belt citations. The St. Paul Police Department issued 520 of them. The next highest total number of tickets were issued by the Minnesota State Patrol in Duluth, where 180 citations were issued. 

According to the state, 42 unbelted traffic deaths have been reported so far this year, surpassing 2020’s total of 30. Overall traffic deaths sit at 177, which is also well ahead of the 125 in 2020 year-to-date. 

The Department of Public Safety also sought to educate drivers about the importance of seatbelt and car seat usage among children. In a release, the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office said it cited a driver whose 3-year-old was standing in the backseat of the car and looking out of the window. 

Red Lake Police say they cited a driver for DWI who was unbuckled and had four young children unbuckled in the backseat. St. Paul Police also cited an unbuckled driver who had three children in the backseat also without seatbelts on. That driver was also using FaceTime when she was arrested.