Summer is right around the corner! The Nebraska State Patrol is kicking off the summer travel season with the Make It Click statewide campaign.

"Summer means road trips, vacations, community events, family gatherings, and much more," said Colonel John Bolduc, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “For all those trips, we want Nebraskans and our visitors to be safe on the road. That starts by making your seat belt click before every trip.”

Troopers, deputies, and officers from police agencies across the state are partnering for the Make It Click effort. The campaign began on Monday, May 20, and runs through Sunday, June 2, covering the weeks around Memorial Day, which marks the start of the summer travel season.

Troopers will be performing high-visibility patrols across the state, monitoring for dangerous driving behavior. During traffic stops, troopers will be looking for seat belt violations and thanking motorists who are already wearing their seat belt.

NSP was joined in a Make It Click kickoff event today by the Nebraska Department of Transportation, Kearney Police Department, Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska Safety Council, and Chris Haag, who told his personal story of surviving a crash because he was wearing his seat belt.

“I’m very, very fortunate to be here. I know without a doubt if I would not have had a seat belt on, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you today,” said Chris Haag. “I would strongly advise everybody out there. You don’t know when it’s going to happen. It happened to me twice. Put a seatbelt on. It’s pretty simple.”

Troopers and NSP dispatchers will be working overtime to provide additional coverage during the busy start to the summer travel season. NSP's portion of this campaign is made possible thanks in part to a grant from the Nebraska Department of Transportation - Highway Safety Office. Any motorist who observes a dangerous driver can report it to the NSP Highway Helpline by calling *55 to reach an NSP dispatcher.

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