The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office announced on Apr. 15 that it will participate in the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission’s “Buckle Up in Your Truck” campaign this month.
The campaign, which runs from April 18 to April 25, aims to improve seat belt use among pickup truck drivers and passengers by increasing enforcement throughout neighborhoods and major roadways. Deputies will conduct enhanced seat belt enforcement and checkpoints as part of the statewide initiative.
The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission is providing additional manpower for this effort, allowing deputies to focus on encouraging compliance with seat belt laws.
Sheriff Randy Smith said, “Our goal is to keep everyone safe and to encourage all drivers and passengers to buckle up in every seat, every time.” He continued, “Seatbelts and child safety seats save lives. There is a myth that pickup truck occupants are safer without seat belts because of the size of their vehicles. However, most pickup truck fatalities across Louisiana and across the country involve individuals who were not wearing a seat belt. That tells you how serious this issue is.”
According to recent data from the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU, buckled-up pickup truck occupants are more than nine times more likely to survive a motor vehicle crash than those who are unrestrained. The latest survey also shows that 17.9% of pickup truck drivers in Louisiana do not wear seat belts, while CARTS data indicates that 65.2% of pickup truck drivers who died in crashes where seat belt use could be determined were not wearing a seat belt.
The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office urges all residents to wear their seat belts during every trip as part of ongoing efforts to reduce injuries and fatalities on local roads.
