As summer kicks off and families hit the road for vacations, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office to remind motorists to “Click It or Ticket.” From May 22 to June 4, agencies across the state will increase seat belt enforcement as part of the National Highway Safety Administration’s nationwide mobilization.

“If you ask the family members of those unrestrained people who were killed in crashes, they will tell you they wish their loved ones had buckled up,” said Cumberland County Sheriff Casey Cox. “The bottom line is that seat belts save lives. If these enforcement crackdowns gets people’s attention and gets them to buckle up, then we have done our job. There is no excuse for not wearing a seat belt.”

According to the TITAN database, 349 people killed in Tennessee traffic crashes last year were not restrained. That represented 34 percent of the state’s total traffic fatalities in 2016.

In Tennessee, the maximum penalty for a seat belt violation is $50.

For more information on seat belt safety, visit tntrafficsafety.org