State Police Participating In “Click It or Ticket” Campaign

Monday May 21st began the "Click it or Ticket It" campaign nationwide and the Louisiana State Police came by yesterday to fill us in on why it is important to wear your seat belt.

Sgt. James Anderson with the Louisiana State Police had some great tips for you and we wanted to pass them along.

The national Click it or Ticket campaign begins on Monday, May 21, and will end on Sunday, June 3, 2012.  During the operation, troopers assigned to Louisiana State Police Troop D will place increased emphasis on seat belt and child restraint enforcement.  In addition, over 160 hours of overtime has been allocated to Troop D to provide additional troopers to locate and ticket motorists who choose not to wear a seat belt.

The majority of fatal and serious injury crashes involve occupants who are not wearing seat belts.  So far this year, 9 unrestrained motorists have lost their lives in crashes investigated by Troop D.

Sadly, only 3 out of 4 motorists (74.8%) in our area wear a seat belt.  This compares to the statewide seat belt usage rate of 78 percent and the nationwide usage rate of 84 percent.  Wearing a seat belt is your best defense while traveling.

Louisiana law requires vehicle occupants to be properly restrained in all seating positions, front seat and back seat, day and night.  Louisiana law also prohibits children under the age of 12 from riding in the bed of a pickup truck.  Click it or Ticket.

Funding for additional patrols is provided by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.

Source: LSP James Anderson