Otter Tail County revives Click It for Coffee seat belt campaign

Otter Tail County is leaning on a small reward to drive a bigger safety habit, bringing back its Click It for Coffee campaign as Memorial Day travel approaches.

The county’s promotion runs from May 11 through May 31, with a one-day giveaway set for May 20 at The Nest in Perham. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day, drive-thru customers wearing a seat belt may receive a voucher for a free drink on a future visit. County officials are using the stop in Perham to put a local, visible reminder in front of drivers as summer traffic picks up.

The message is straightforward: buckle up every trip, every time. Otter Tail County says more than half of its fatal and serious injury crashes in 2025 involved an occupant who was not wearing a seat belt, a statistic that keeps the issue urgent even as Minnesota’s statewide seat-belt use remains high. The state reported nearly 95% seat-belt use in 2024, but county leaders say that still leaves too many people at risk on rural highways, lake-country roads and short neighborhood drives.

Emily Frustol, the Safe Communities Coalition coordinator, said the local numbers show why the reminder still matters. Laura Bjerke of The Nest said the business is proud to support something simple and important. The county is pairing that hometown nudge with a busy travel window, betting that a friendly reward and repeated messaging may reach people who tune out warnings alone.

The campaign is part of Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths initiative, which brings together engineering, enforcement, education, emergency medical services and trauma services, along with community partners, to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries. Otter Tail County describes its Safe Communities Coalition as a local advocacy group within that effort, working with public health, law enforcement and other partners to push safer driving choices.

National figures underscore the stakes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the national seat-belt use rate was 91.2% in 2024 and estimates seat belts saved 14,955 lives in 2017. Otter Tail County has used similar messaging before, including a late-2024 seat-belt campaign tied to NHTSA’s “Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time.” slogan. This spring’s coffee promotion is meant to turn that same message into a habit before Memorial Day travel opens the summer season.