Local officers wrapped up a campaign for increased seat belt use on Sunday.
From May 23 to June 5, Baton Rouge police were on high alert for seat belt safety offenders, setting up checkpoints and ticketing individuals caught not wearing a seat belt.
This zero-tolerance enforcement was part of a campaign for increased seat belt safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. The Baton Rouge Police Department and the LSU Police Department participated in the 2011 Click It or Ticket national mobilization.
Jamie Ainsworth, public information officer for the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, said Louisiana drivers rank among the lowest in seat belt use, despite being a primary enforcement state.
“A cop can pull you over for not wearing a seat belt alone in a primary state,” Ainsworth said. “Officers in secondary states have to pull you over for another violation. But some secondary states have more seat belt use than Louisiana.”
If Louisiana citizens buckled up 85% of the time, they would save an estimated $140 million annually, according to a fact sheet on the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission website.
Ainsworth said the campaign utilizes a saturation patrol and checkpoints to enforce the seat belt law.
“During this period of time, the contracted agencies that participate agree to work overtime for seat belt awareness and enforcement,” Ainsworth said. “This campaign has great potential for raising awareness and encouraging folks to make better decisions.”
Cpl. L’Jean McKneely with BRPD said the consequences for not wearing a seat belt include a $25 fine plus all court costs for a first offense and a $50 fine plus all court costs for second and third offenses.
“We’re giving officers overtime to go out and look for individuals riding around without seat belts,” McKneely said. “Our goal is actually to change drivers’ behavior. We are actively looking for those individuals in hopes of making it more real to them, and we’re showing them it’s very important to wear a seat belt.”
Sgt. Blake Tabor, LSUPD spokesman, said LSUPD also took a more proactive approach during the campaign period.
“We are making a more conscious effort to devote our attention to seat belt violations,” Tabor said. “It is something we take seriously on campus on any given day. We are devoting as much opportunity as we can to enforce that in an increased manner.”
Tabor said seat belt safety is not a commonly occurring problem for students on campus, but campus police still took the campaign seriously.
“Our number one aim is public safety,” Tabor said. “We do anything we can to increase positive activity, and we hope this effort had a positive impact.”
 
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Contact Morgan Searles at [email protected]