It is estimated that over 90% of Illinois residents use their seatbelts. This has been the case for the last two years. Yet, apparently 90% isn\'t good enough for Governor Rod R. Blagojevich. For some reason, he feels that the state needs 100% compliance with the laws requiring people to use seatbelts. He wants to use his resources to make sure that during the 2008 holiday season everyone wears a seatbelt. Many would argue this is their own decision. Why should they be required to wear a seatbelt? They aren\'t hurting anyone else if they get in a wreck, aren\'t wearing a seatbelt, and die. They have the resources to make an informed decision about whether or not to wear a seatbelt. Governor Blagojevich\'s dedication to seatbelt use is not a new thing, though. Since he signed the primary safety belt law in 2003, seatbelt compliance has gone up 14.3% from 76.2% in 2003 to 90.5% in 2008. During that same time, highway fatalities have gone down more than 200 a year. Apparently the governor feels that there\'s a correlation between seatbelt use and highway fatalities going down. Governor Blagojevich has been so bold as to use resources such as NASCAR drivers to encourage Illinois drivers to buckle-up. These NASCAR drivers actually tell people that they should buckle-up each and every time the person gets behind the wheel. Why do they think they know anything about driving safety? Aren\'t those the guys speeding around a racetrack at unbelievably fast speeds? Sure, they need seatbelts to do that, but someone going a hundred miles slower than that shouldn\'t need a seatbelt to drive safely. For Illinois\' \"Click It or Ticket\" program, resources will be focusing upon both daytime and nighttime drivers. Just because almost half of all fatal accidents happen at night and because seatbelt usage goes down roughly 10% at night, Governor Blagojevich feels at least 25% of enforcement resources for \"Click It or Ticket\" should focus upon night driving. It\'s just not fair. People might have thought they could drive at night without having to worry about the police forcing them to wear a seatbelt. Some may feel \"Click It or Ticket\" is a nuisance more than it\'s a resource to actually get people wearing seatbelts in Illinois. People will know about the program going on, and to avoid a ticket, the people will buckle-up during the program or buckle-up when they notice a policeman around, but that doesn\'t mean that the people will continue to buckle-up after \"Click It or Ticket\" is over or even when there aren\'t any policemen around. Others will feel that once you establish the habits, and give the people the resources to understand the importance of using a seatbelt, and people will keep using their seatbelts. If for no other reason, they\'ll continue to use their seatbelts out of habit. Yet, in the end, shouldn\'t everyone be able to decide on their own if they want to wear a seatbelt? Why must other people force someone to wear a seatbelt? Sure, it\'s there to save lives, but it\'s about saving the life of the person wearing or not wearing the seatbelt. What\'s next? Forcing everyone to only eat healthy food and to stop smoking?
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