BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Law enforcement agencies plan to step up enforcement of the state's seat belt laws as part of a campaign to save lives and reduce injuries from highway crashes.
The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission says 43 agencies are working an estimated 8,500 hours of overtime as part of the "Click It or Ticket" campaign that will run for two weeks, Nov. 13-26.
In Louisiana, drivers and passengers in any vehicle are required to wear seat belts.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says seat belts save over 13,000 lives every year. A 2011 survey found that 77.7 percent of Louisiana motorists buckled up, compared to 75.9 percent last year. In the mid-1980s, before seat belt use became a requirement, only about 12 percent of motorists in the state used seat belts.
Sixty percent of persons killed in crashes in Louisiana in 2010 were reported not wearing a seat belt. About 81 percent of driver fatalities in the state last year involved lack of seat belt use, alcohol or aggressive driving. According to a report compiled by Louisiana State University, the cost of all crashes in Louisiana in 2010 totaled $5.45 billion.
"Studies and statistics make it clear that buckling up is very important for your safety," said Lt. Col. John LeBlanc, executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. "During a crash, being buckled up helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle, whereas being thrown out of a vehicle is almost always deadly."