With motor vehicle crashes among the highest killers in the nation today, local law enforcement officials are trying to get everyone to buckle up to save lives.

A survey conducted in September by the Department of Public Safety found that out of 900 drivers, 73 percent of them were wearing seat belts, said Chuck Cychosz, DPS manager of crime prevention, research and training.

The number of drivers who buckle up is slightly below the state’s average of 78 percent, and considerably lower than the department’s goal of 85 percent, he said.

Cychosz said one reason for the low numbers is certain people, such as mail carriers and some construction workers, are not required by law to wear seat belts.

“We encourage everybody to be buckled up whenever practical,” he said. “It could save your life.”

The Story County Sheriff’s Office reported a much higher percentage of seat-belt wearers in a similar September study. Cpt. Gary Foster of the Story County Sheriff’s Office said his department reported a 93 percent compliancy rate.

“I’d like to think some of it has to do with enforcement efforts,” Foster said. “It also has to do with prevention and education.”

Jan Goldsmith, Central Iowa Area Administrator of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, said 93 percent is a high compliancy rate.

She said the county will receive an award from the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 17 for its outstanding compliancy rate. Story County is one of only six departments to top the 90 percent rate since the award was first handed out four years ago.

Foster said officers in his department place a lot of emphasis on wearing seat belts. The officers travel to schools, businesses, civic groups and driver’s education classes to talk with residents.

“It’s a combination of a lot of public education, and there’s definitely enforcement involved in the counties that have won the awards,” Goldsmith said. “People are also getting wise.”

Iowa is one of 49 states with a mandatory seat belt law. Goldsmith said the law has proven beneficial to Iowans. Since its conception in July 1986, more than 4,000 lives have been saved, and about 230 lives have been saved this year, she said.

The average has risen from 18 percent to 78 percent since the law was enacted, Goldsmith said. Iowa is above average when compared to the rest of the country, she said.

The state will receive more than $800,000 in federal money because of its success in getting people to wear seat belts. She said the money goes to highway traffic safety and to education groups like sTEP, an awareness and enforcement program geared at traffic safety.

The fine for a seat belt violation is $10 plus a $3 surcharge. There is also a $15 court fee, bringing the total ticket amount to $28, Foster said.