Beginning Monday, Kansas Highway Patrol troopers and local law enforcement will be extra vigilant patrolling around high schools and targeting motorists driving without seat belts, according to a news release from the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office.

The initiative, which will last through March 6, is part of the annual statewide “Seat Belts Are For Everyone” campaign. Fifty-nine counties, including Douglas, and 127 schools are participating.

Students will be educated about traffic laws and issued citations if they fail to comply.

In 2012, 43 teenagers died in vehicle crashes; 73 percent of them were not wearing seatbelts, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

For more information about SAFE, visit http://www.ktsro.org/safe.