Buckle up this holiday weekend as the largest statewide crack down on wearing seatbelts is currently being put into effect.

The Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois State Police are teaming up with local police in over 5,000 zones and 1,400 saturation zones, zones that deal with a particular type of violation, to enforce the 1999 Click it or Ticket Campaign.

“No matter the destination, always wear a safety belt. The best way to protect yourself and your family is by buckling up,” Safety Education Officer and State Police Sgt. Bill Emery said.

Even though the crack down is geared towards the Memorial Day weekend, Emery has said that the enforcement has already begun.

“It can be any place. [Click it or Ticket] is done throughout the year, but the big emphasis right now is on Memorial Day when there’s a high volume of traffic,” Emery noted.

“Last year, 4,590 zones were covered under the same campaign, and at least 5,200 will be hit this time. The biggest emphasis will be placed on seat belt enforcement in rural areas, which account for 60 percent of all traffic fatalities in America. Because of this, there will be at least 2,000 zones and around 450 saturation patrols in Illinois’ rural areas.

“We’re going to be hitting the rural areas and we’re going to be hitting the residential areas, since most crashes occur close to home,” Emery said.

According to Mary A. Paulias of Illinois’ Division of Traffic Safety, there have been approximately 35 crashes on Memorial Day in Coles County over the past three years, which included one death and eight injuries. The amount of deaths Traffic Safety is expecting for the state on the weekend is 541 with around 28,200 injuries. Yet they believe 461 drivers can be saved if they wear safety belts and an additional 130 lives could be saved if all drivers wear safety belts.

Click it or Ticket has so far seemed to get more belts on drivers as seat belt usage went up from 76 percent in 2003 to 83 percent in 2004.

“If you get stopped and you’re not wearing a seat belt, you’ll probably get a citation more than likely,” remarked Charleston Deputy Chief Dave Chambers.

University Police Officer Art Mitchell has said Click it or Ticket does apply at Eastern. Yet, Mitchell does not see seatbelt enforcement as a big problem on campus. “[Eastern students] are very conscientious about it,” he said.

The enforcement also includes a new law that requires drivers under 18 to make sure their teen passengers are buckled properly and a law that rose the age requiring children to be in a booster seat in a car from age 4 to 8.