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TRENTON (CBS/AP) ― New Jersey police plan an aggressive seat belt enforcement campaign starting Monday using as a backdrop the serious injuries suffered by Gov. Jon S. Corzine after he failed to buckle up.

Traffic safety officials hope lessons learned from Corzine's April 12 Garden State Parkway crash mean they won't spot many unbuckled drivers.

"I think the public has certainly gotten a wake-up call, if you will, about how important seat belts are," said Pam Fischer, state highway traffic safety division director.

The "Click It or Ticket" enforcement campaign is slated to last from Monday until June 3.

Corzine broke his leg, 11 ribs, collarbone and sternum in the crash, which occurred as his state trooper-driven SUV was clipped by a pickup truck and slammed into a guardrail after going 91 mph in a 65 mph zone.

Corzine was a front-seat passenger, violating state law requiring him to wear a seat belt. His driver was wearing a seat belt and suffered minor injuries.

Corzine voluntarily paid a $46 fine for and apologized for violating the law and, after 18 days in a Camden hospital, has been working at the governor's mansion in Princeton.

The enforcement campaign has been held for several years and was planned before Corzine's crash, but Fischer said the accident helped put focus on seat belt use in New Jersey.

"Having the governor involved in this crash has certainly called much more attention to this situation," she said. "It helps. It absolutely does. We struggle in this traffic safety business trying to get our message out there day in, day out.

"While the governor was one person involved that day," she said "we lose about 119 people a day on the road across the country."

Corzine, his mobility restricted as he recovers, won't be directly involved in the campaign, though on Tuesday he taped a public service announcement urging people to use seat belts.

"Hopefully, we can get it in place and on the air before Memorial Day," Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said.

"The message is very compelling and powerful," Fischer said.

She said the division hopes Corzine will also address other driving hazards as time passes.

That would suit Jim Ebert of Delanco, who said he's been more worried about the speed of Corzine's SUV and dangers posed by speeding.

"I really wish he would come out and say something about it," Ebert said. "I'm scared to death to ride around on these highways these days."

The campaign did more than promote seat belt use last year when police in Bergen County stopped a minivan driven by then-Attorney General Zulima Farber's boyfriend. The minivan had an expired registration, and police were about to tow it when Farber arrived at the scene. Police didn't tow the minivan, and Farber was later deemed to have violated ethics rules and resigned.

The campaign stems from a national effort and is being funded in New Jersey with a $4,000 federal grant to help 206 police agencies -- along with state police -- participate.

In the United States, 43,443 people were killed on the roads in 2005, including 768 in New Jersey. Of those in New Jersey, 229 weren't buckled.

AAA contends using a seat belt reduces the risk of death by 45 percent and the risk of moderate to critical injury by 50 percent for front seat passengers.

An estimated 90 percent of New Jerseyans use a seat belt -- the eighth highest rate in the nation in 2006, according to the NHTSA.

During last year's enforcement campaign, 56,300 tickets were issued, down from 65,500 in 2005.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)