“Buckle Up in Your Truck” Awareness Campaign Underway

Law enforcement agencies participate this week in the “Buckle Up in Your Truck” campaign, an effort to get more drivers and passengers in pickup trucks to wear seat belts. Deputy Director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Dortha Cummins says pickup truck passengers are less compliant of seat belt laws

“That is problematic because pickup trucks are two times more likely to roll over than cars when they are in a crash.”

Cummins says 89-percent of drivers and passengers in passenger vehicles follow the state’s seat belt laws, but the percentage drops to 81-percent for pickup truck drivers and passengers

“Again, pickup trucks are just that one type of vehicle within our observational survey that year after year continue to be the lowest in that observed usage rate.”

Cummins says the Buckle Up in Trucks law enforcement campaign means state troopers, deputies and police officers will increase their efforts to make sure those in a pickup truck are buckled up…

“And just working with those drivers and occupants to do that, to wear a belt. You know some of that will be through awareness.”

Pickup trucks make up a quarter of the vehicles on our roadways and Cummins says stats show men are more likely not to buckle up then women.