As Memorial Day approaches, the Evanston Police Department is creating temporary seat belt checkpoints as part of a national effort to increase seat belt use. The checkpoints take effect Friday and will remain active through May 31.

Illinois state law states each driver and front-seat passenger must wear a seat belt. All those in violation are subject to a fine.

The planned checkpoints are part of a national “Click It or Ticket” program encouraging seat belt use, said Sgt. Thomas Moore of the EPD Traffic Bureau.

The EPD has participated in the “Click It or Ticket” program for several years and receives funding through the Illinois Department of Transportation, Moore said. The department expects travel to increase for the Memorial Day holiday and is highlighting its enforcement efforts to keep residents safe, he said.

“We’re really just going to try to be more alert to seat belt violations,” Moore said. “The more seat belt compliance you have, the less serious or fatal accidents tend to occur.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website, in 2006, 63 percent of the 4,842 passenger vehicle occupants age 16 to 20 who were killed were not wearing seat belts.

According to the website, “the percentage of fatalities in which the driver was not wearing a seat belt has been about 60 percent or higher for the past 10 years.”

– Emilia Barrosse