Lake Charles –
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office is participating in the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign with grant funding from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. The campaign that starts today, May 20, and ends June 2, was created in an effort to save lives through awareness of increased seat belt use. This campaign includes the Memorial Day holiday, one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. During this campaign the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office will conduct a seatbelt checkpoint along with increased deputies on the road, aimed at targeting people not wearing their seatbelt. The seatbelt checkpoint will be held at an undisclosed location in the parish on Saturday, May 25.
“According to research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half (47%) of the passengers killed in crashes in 2017 were unrestrained. Research shows in 2017 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts. Those facts highlight the need for increased enforcement and awareness of seat belt use.” said Calcasieu Sheriff Tony Mancuso.