Dear Community Partner:

Illinois is on a mission to reduce fatalities, injuries and economic costs associated with motor vehicle crashes. You can help us reduce the number one killer of Americans between the ages of 4-34. Motor vehicle crashes kill more young adults than cancer, heart disease or homicide. In 2006, Illinois reported the lowest number of traffic fatalities since 1924, but we still have work to do. Our goal is to reach 90 percent safety belt compliance during the May 2007 Click It or Ticket Mobilization. If we reach 90 percent safety belt compliance, we will save 37 additional lives in Illinois, and prevent over 1,000 traumatic injuries to our friends, neighbors and relatives.

We have developed county-specific newsletters to show you fatality trends in your area. The newsletter also suggests simple ways you can join the campaign to save lives. By sending out an e-mail blast, putting up posters, posting “Click It or Ticket” on marquis boards or just telling a friend to buckle up, you can play a significant role in increasing safety belt compliance to 90 percent in Illinois. At the www.buckleupillinois.org website you will find downloadable web banners, letters to the editor and mayoral proclamations. Please join the campaign to save lives.

If you have any questions about community outreach during the Click It or Ticket campaign, or would like additional copies of the attached newsletter, please feel free to contact the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety at buckleup@dot.il.gov.