The NOPD will be partnering with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Louisiana Highway Safety Commission for the “Buckle-Up in Your Truck” campaign, which will span from April 23- April 30.

This grant-based campaign will assist law enforcement agencies to target drivers operating vehicles – specifically pickup trucks – without wearing seatbelts, in order to bring awareness and save lives.

“It truly is a safety double whammy because some of our most vulnerable drivers and passengers are least likely to protect themselves,” LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said. “Through the Buckle Up in Your Truck campaign, law enforcement officers will be looking for pickup drivers and passengers who aren’t wearing their seat belts, and they will be handing out tickets across the state.”

An early study from January – June 2021 estimates an increase of about 18.4 percent of people who died from traffic accidents in the United States. That’s the largest number of projected fatalities in that period since 2006.

According to information from the LHSC, pickups are twice as likely to roll over in a crash, and Louisiana pickup drivers and their passengers are less likely to wear their seat belts.

With a goal of reducing injuries and unrestrained fatalities on our roadways, NOPD officers will participate in high-visibility enforcement to bring awareness to the importance of seatbelt usage and laws. The NOPD joins other law enforcement officers across the state who are looking for unrestrained drivers and occupants, specifically those in pickups.

“Fewer injuries and fewer deaths are good; even fewer is better, and none is best,” Freeman said. “The best way to protect yourself in a crash is to wear a seat belt.”