As Thanksgiving Day approaches and AAA expects a record 71.7 million people to travel by car this week, you will want to make sure you are buckled up when driving.  Local and state police will be adding patrols to focus on increased safety.  They will enforce the "Click it or Ticket" campaign during the National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization through the holiday weekend.  Door County Chief Deputy Pat McCarty reminds you to drive defensively and give yourself plenty of room behind the vehicle in front of you. He says speed is one of the significant factors in highway accident fatalities.

Despite steady increases in observed seat belt use, eight percent of Wisconsin motorists still do not wear a seat belt. Preliminary numbers show that 146 drivers and passengers who died in crashes in 2023 were not wearing a seat belt. An average of more than 2,200 unbelted occupants are injured in crashes every year.