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May 21, 2013

ULM Police Department takes part in national “Click It or Ticket” campaign through June 2

The University of Louisiana at Monroe Police Department received funding from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission to support the “Click It or Ticket” campaign.

Tuesday, May 21 through Sunday, June 2, ULMPD will participate with other law enforcement agencies to step up enforcement of the state’s occupant protection laws during the two-week mobilization.

Steven Mahon, Officer in Charge of University Police, addressed ULMPD’s support of initiatives that address critical traffic safety issues of common concern among the region’s communities, including seatbelt use and impaired driving.

“Seat belt use in Louisiana has improved, but remains far below the national average,” he said.

“In Louisiana, 79.3 percent of people wear seat belts. This is well below the national average of 86 percent.”

“Click It or Ticket” is a high visibility enforcement and public awareness campaign aimed at saving lives by getting more people to wear their seat belts.

This special enforcement period is part of the state’s annual effort to increase seat belt use through a combination of high visibility enforcement, advertising, and public awareness campaigns.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission announced that 132 law enforcement agencies across the state are participating in this year’s campaign.

The seat belt enforcement effort will be the largest of its kind ever conducted in Louisiana.

The participating law enforcement agencies have received grants from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission to conduct extra patrols.

The grants provide for overtime to deputies, police officers, and state troopers who conduct saturation patrols and checkpoints focused on seat belt usage, drunk driving, and other violations. The focus will be on seat belt law compliance during “Click It or Ticket.” During last year’s campaign, Louisiana officers issued 20,597 seat belt citations. All law enforcement agencies issued a total of 68,976 seat belt tickets during the entire year of 2012.

In 2011, seat belts saved an estimated 11,949 lives nationwide—according to the National Highway Safety Administration.

The 2013 “Click It or Ticket” national and statewide mobilization will take place over the Memorial Day holiday period.

According to the Louisiana Highway Research Group data, 11 people were killed in Memorial Day holiday crashes in 2012 – more than during any other holiday in Louisiana that year, with the exception of Thanksgiving.

A recent nighttime observational survey found an 11-percentage point difference in day and night seat belt usage. Louisiana Highway Safety Research Group data confirms that adults in the age range of 18 to 34 are the lowest users of seatbelts.

Younger motorists—young men in particular—are most at risk. Among teens and young adults, ages 18 to 34, who were killed in fatal crashes in 2011, 64 percent were not buckled up at the time of the crash—the highest percentage of any age group.

The number jumps to 66 percent when only men in this age group are included.

While this year’s campaign runs through June 2, officers are out enforcing seat belt laws year-round, day and night.

For more on the national “Click It or Ticket” mobilization, visit www.nhtsa.gov

To follow ULMPD on social media, visit twitter.com/ulmpd, or facebook.com/ulmpd

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