As the Memorial Day holiday approaches, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office is reminding motorists to Click It or Ticket.

The annual campaign is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s high-visibility enforcement effort which runs through June 2. Aimed at increasing seat belt use, the campaign runs concurrently with one of the busiest travel seasons of the year.

“Our law enforcement personnel see firsthand severe injuries or loss of life when people do not buckle up,” Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue Jr. said in a statement. “It’s such a simple act, and I hope it becomes the automatic next step for all motorists after sitting down in a vehicle.”

The sheriff’s office will have a traffic safety checkpoint from 10 p.m. Thursday, May 30, to 1 a.m. Friday, May 31 near the intersection of U.S. 60 and Clintonville Road.

“If the enforcement crackdown wakes people up to the dangers of unrestrained driving and gets them to buckle up, we’ll consider it a success,” Perdue said.

Of the 725 highway fatalities last year in Kentucky, 52.8 percent were not wearing a seat belt.

“Please help us spread this life-saving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction,” Perdue said. “Seat belts save lives, and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to remember to buckle up every trip, every time.”

According to the NHTSA, when worn correctly, seat belts reduce the risk of fatalities by 45 percent for front-seat vehicle occupants and by 60 percent for pickup truck SUV and minivan occupants.