Warning issued for pickup truck drivers in Louisiana

METAIRIE, LA (WGNO) — Two area law enforcement agencies are among those announcing their participation in a campaign designed to get more pickup truck drivers and passengers to fasten their seat belts.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department begins its warning for people in pickups with a statistic pegging trucks at 25% of the vehicles on the road.  The department is also telling truck drivers about deputies’ efforts to increase seat belt enforcement with the “Buckle up In Your Truck” campaign currently underway in the state.

The JPSO says not only are pickup truck drivers and passengers less likely to wear a seat belt, the trucks are twice as likely to rollover in fatal crashes.  Deputies are promising to write tickets when they see the state’s mandatory seat belt law being broken by anyone in a pickup.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission is organizing “Buckle Up In Your Truck” and on Tuesday officially announced that this would be the third year for the state-wide campaign.  The commission will be dedicating money to law enforcement agencies specifically to search for and cite seat belt violators in trucks.

“If you’re in a pickup truck and you take those extra three seconds to buckle your seat belt, your odds of surviving a crash have just gone up 75 percent,” said the group’s executive director John LeBlanc.

Westwego police also announced their participation in the program.

“Seat belts are the most effective lifesaving feature in a car,” Westwego Chief of Police Dwayne Munch said.