Annual seatbelt-use campaign to begin April 15 at college

University Police at SUNY Oswego will deploy special patrols starting April 15 to look for motorists who are not wearing their seatbelts as part of the annual Buckle-Up Day & Night campaign.

Funded by a grant through the state Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, the seatbelt patrols will operate through April 29.

National Buckle-Up Day and Night traditionally takes place in May as Americans hit the road in large numbers, but University Police received a variance thanks to the college’s commencement in May.

In New York every month, an average of 715 motorists not wearing seatbelts are injured severely enough for hospital treatment, and 153 of them on average require hospitalization. While more than 90 percent of people comply with seatbelt laws, nearly 10 percent still do not, police said.

Wearing a seatbelt increases one’s survival chances by 60 percent, and motorists will not have to worry about a ticket for not wearing one, police said.

For more information on University Police safety campaigns, visit oswego.edu/police or the department’s Facebook page.