ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – The Minnesota Department of Public Safety, along with the Minnesota State Patrol, ramps up the “Click or Ticket Campaign” for the next two weeks starting Friday.

If you think wearing a seatbelt hems you in or cramps your style, it’s nothing compared to the pinch you’ll feel in the purse or wallet if you get caught not wearing it. Passengers will get a $115 ticket if they’re caught not buckling up.

Up until Oct. 26, special patrols are going to be looking for drivers and passengers not wearing their seat belts in a statewide effort to reduce fatalities.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO’s Chris Simon Reports

Nathan Bowie, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said although patrols are always mindful about checking to make sure motorists are buckled up, for the next two weeks they will be especially vigilant.

“There are extra dollars put toward agencies statewide to pay some patrols overtime for seat-belt enforcement. Even if you are in a back seat, you still must buckle up!” he said.

The department of public safety recorded that between 2009 and 2011, 43 percent of traffic fatalities involved people who did not fasten their seat belt.