ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University Police will join more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies and other college and university campus police agencies in the national Click It or Ticket Mobilization, which runs from Nov. 17 to 30.

"Failure to wear a seat belt is against the law in this state. We enforce this law because it's the best proven way to save lives. If you won't buckle up to save your life, then buckle up to save yourself a ticket," said Sgt. Chuck Howard, traffic enforcement coordinator for Cornell University Police.

"The only proven way to get significant increases in belt use among young people and, ultimately, save lives is through high visibility enforcement," Howard said. "Teens and young adults are killed at far higher rates in crashes because they are caught in a lethal intersection of inexperience, risk-taking and low safety belt use. These tragedies are predictable and, therefore, preventable, using proven techniques like high-visibility enforcement mobilizations."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 5,341 teens, ages 16 to 20, died and hundreds of thousands more were injured in traffic crashes in 2001. Fatality rates for teens are twice those of older drivers, and the risk of crashes for teens is four times what it is for older drivers. Two out of five deaths among teens are the result of a traffic crash. In 2000, the estimated economic impact of police-reported crashes involving drivers between 15 and 20 years old was $32.8 billion.

"While national seat belt use is at an all-time high of 79 percent, we know the remaining 21 percent who don't wear their seat belts are disproportionately teens and young men ages 18-34. And at 69 percent belt use rate, restraint use for teens and young adults, ages 16 to 24, continues to lag behind the rest of population," Howard said.

During the national Click It or Ticket Mobilization, officers will intensify enforcement of safety belt laws by setting up checkpoints and intersection patrols. Drivers failing to restrain themselves and their passengers will be ticketed according to the law. "Enforcement gets people to buckle up. Seat belt use in states that conduct high-visibility enforcement is 10 to 15 percentage points higher than in states that simply conduct public education," Howard said. "If every state conducted high-visibility enforcement, we would save 5,000 lives each year."

The Click It or Ticket Mobilization is conducted twice yearly by the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign of the National Safety Council, in conjunction with law enforcement agencies, state highway safety offices, the NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board. The mobilization also is part of Buckle Up America, an ongoing NHTSA initiative to increase belt use and save lives.

"This year, nearly 8,000 Americans -- adults and children -- will die in crashes because they failed to buckle their seat belts," said Howard. "Traffic fatalities, especially among teens and young adults, are an ongoing tragedy we must do something about, and that is why we've joined this effort."

Cornell University Police participates in the mobilizations because they work, Howard said. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reported recently that child fatalities from traffic crashes have declined by 20 percent since 1997, when the mobilizations began. The DOT has credited the mobilizations with significantly contributing to this decline and for dramatically increasing child-restraint use.