Strap on your pickup truck before you hit the street – literally

According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission (LHSC), pickup truck drivers and their passengers are among the least likely American motorists to regularly wear their safety belts.
While more motorists than ever before are complying with Louisiana’s seat belt law – an estimated 84.1 percent in 2014 – only about 78.5 percent of pickup truck drivers statewide are using seat belts. It is the lowest rate for all vehicle types, according to the state’s annual seat belt use survey.
The Breaux Bridge Police Department is joining forces with LHSC, and State and local highway safety and law enforcement leaders across Louisiana to launch a high visibility enforcement initiative April 24-30 called “Buckle Up in Your Truck.” The goal is to save more lives by convincing more pickup drivers and their passengers to always buckle up.
“No more warnings. No more excuses. We’re going to send the ‘Buckle Up in Your Truck’ message out loud and clear,” said Police Chief Rollie Cantu. “Too many pickup truck drivers and their passengers are getting killed, so we want to make sure they are buckled up – every trip, every time.”
Drivers and passengers in pickup trucks across the nation have much lower safety belt usage rates than the occupants of all other vehicles. In 2014, the observed safety belt use rate in pickup trucks was only 78.5 percent with the Lafayette regional area at 80.1 percent usage.
The statewide “Buckle Up in Your Truck” initiative immediately precedes the intensive Click It or Ticket national safety belt enforcement mobilization set for May 18 to May 31.
“We are going to step up enforcement efforts to remind pickup truck occupants to always wear their safety belts,” said Chief Cantu. “The simple step of buckling up is the single best defense against ejection and will increase your odds of survival in light trucks by as much as 80 percent in the event of a rollover crash.”
While rollovers can occur in any kind of passenger vehicle, pickup trucks are twice as likely to rollover as cars, because they have a higher center of gravity. Moreover, the ejection rate for occupants of light trucks in a crash is nearly double the rate for vehicle occupants, mostly due to the lack of safety belt use.
Louisiana has a primary enforcement seat-belt law, meaning officers can stop and ticket anyone they spot not buckled up.