Law enforcement officers across Louisiana will be patrolling the highways during the Memorial Day holiday, issuing tickets to drivers and passengers who are not wearing their seat belts, according to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.
“Click It or Ticket” is a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration enforcement program to crack down on seat belt violators. Extra patrols will be visible on the roads through June 3, said Lisa Freeman, executive director of the LHSC.
“The goal of Click It or Ticket isn’t to give out tickets - it’s a campaign to help keep people safe and alive,” Freeman said. “The long Memorial Day holiday weekend is typically a high-traffic period, so we want to make sure that seat belt usage is top of mind for anyone with travel plans.”
According to NHTSA, seat belts saved the lives of an estimated 14,668 people 5 and older across the country in 2016. In Louisiana, the latest data available show that 87.1 percent of drivers and passengers wear their seat belts. But 2016 state statistics also show that 53.7 percent of the people who died in vehicle crashes were not properly wearing a seat belt, meaning those who wear their seat belts have a much higher chance of surviving a crash.
State and local surveys show that men, pickup truck drivers and back seat passengers use their seat belts less often than other drivers and passengers. Studies also have shown that nighttime drivers are less likely to wear their seat belts.
“The best way to survive a vehicle crash is to wear your seat belt,” Freeman said. “Louisiana has come a long way in improving our seat belt usage, but there are still 13 percent of drivers and passengers who won’t buckle up. Our goal is to convince those people to use their seat belts, and sometimes it takes visible law enforcement efforts and a higher risk of getting a ticket to strengthen that message.”
