This week, the NOPD is reminding New Orleanians to Click It or Ticket as many prepare to hit the roadways this Memorial Day weekend.
As part of the national seat belt enforcement campaign, the NOPD is joining law enforcement agencies around the country to step up enforcement now up until June 3, 2018, just ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
The NOPD will be taking a no-excuses approach day and night for drivers and passengers who are not wearing seatbelts.
“This doesn’t mean writing more tickets—it means saving more lives,” said Lt. Avery Theard, commander of NOPD Traffic Unit. “Wearing a seat belt is the number one thing anyone can do to help prevent death or injury during a vehicle crash.”
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half (48%) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2016 were unrestrained. At night from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., that number soared to 56 percent of those killed.
“Through our enforcement efforts, we believe we can help keep community members safe and remind drivers of the importance of buckling up," said Theard. "Issuing tickets is not our goal, but it's a way to remind people of the simple lifesaving step.”
In 2016, the use of seat belts in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,668 lives of occupants in 2016 ages 5 and older.
In Louisiana, the maximum penalty for a seat belt violation is $45.
In addition to seatbelt enforcement, NOPD receives a grant from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission (LHSC) to administer DUI checkpoints and other Impaired driving countermeasures.
NOPD officers will also be conducting a sobriety checkpoint within Orleans Parishtoday (May 24) starting at 8 p.m. through Friday, May 25, 2018, until 4 a.m.
LHSC administers the state's highway safety grant program, which is designed to reduce traffic crashes and the resulting deaths, injuries and property damage. Programs and projects are administered in accordance with uniform guidelines promulgated by the NHTSA and FHWA.
For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.