(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) Over 700 drivers have died on Missouri roads in 2020, a 12% increase compared to this time last year.

Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers said of those over 700 drivers roughly 70% of them weren't wearing seat belts.

The percentage comes a year after the state recorded a record high level of seat belt usage among drivers.
Sgt. Jake Angle of the MSHP Troop H said the percentage stays about the same from year to year save for last year.
Angle added that the percentage of unrestrained drivers in fatality wrecks also doesn't change much from year to year, and urges every driver to do their part to stay safe on the roads.

"We want people buckling up we want people when they get in that car," Sgt. Angle said. "We don't care if they're going 1 mile or 100 miles."

Angle expressed concern over the upward trend in fatalities despite the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on travel statewide, he said enforcement can only go so far.