St. Tammany News

State Police, local police agencies will be out in force this weekend

As drivers begin their Memorial Day weekend today, police around the state will be stepping up efforts to stop drunk drivers and those who aren't wearing a seat belt. The Click it or Ticket campaign kicked off this week and runs through June 4.

Twenty-three municipal police departments, 18 sheriffs' offices and all nine Louisiana State Police troops are participating in the 2006 Click It or Ticket campaign, organized by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. Under the program, the law enforcement agencies are issued grants to pay for overtime patrols that will concentrate on safety belt enforcement. The campaign will also have a public outreach element consisting of television commercials to emphasize that safety belt use is mandatory in Louisiana.

The Covington Police Department didn't participate in the grant program this year, but officers are being shown a video that shows the dangers of not wearing seat belts, said CPD Lt. Christopher Lang. Covington police will be patrolling through June 4 with a keen focus for people not wearing seat belts, Lang said, adding officers can pull someone over for not wearing their seat belt.

Officers can also pull a vehicle over if they see a child under 5 in the back seat not buckled in, Lang said.

The Slidell Police Department typically participants in the program, but the department, hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, doesn't have any room left over for more overtime, said Capt. Rob Callahan.

"Our guys right now are working forced overtime," he said. Still, officers are aware of the campaign and will be more aware of people who are not wearing seat belts, Callahan said.

Not wearing a seat belt carries a $25 fine for the first offense.

"There's only one purpose for our Click It or Ticket campaign, and that is to save lives," said Col. James E. Champagne, executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. "Eight lives are saved, and 400 fewer injuries occur for every one percentage point increase in safety belt use."

Louisiana law requires that drivers and front-seat occupants wear safety belts and that children under the age of 13 wear a safety belt and/or be restrained by an appropriate child safety seat regardless of seating positions.

Law enforcement officers wrote 33,000 safety belt violation tickets during the 2005 enforcement and public education campaign.

"Most people recognize that safety belts save lives and that Louisiana law requires their use," said Col. Henry Whitehorn, superintendent of Louisiana State Police. "Despite having this knowledge, one out every five motorists in Louisiana still refuses to buckle up. We are convinced that strict enforcement is one of the last options we have of convincing these motorists to use their safety belt as the law requires."

Safety belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent, according to a State Police press release. Sixty-two percent of the 992 people killed in vehicle crashes in Louisiana in 2004 were not buckled up. Failure to wear a safety belt contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic-related behavior - even drunken driving.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office announced it and another agencies will be conducting DWI checkpoints this Memorial Day weekend.

Louisiana State Police Troop L announced Thursday that a DWI checkpoint will take place today in St. Tammany Parish.

The DWI checkpoint will begin at approximately 10 p.m. and will be manned by Louisiana State Police Troop L and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office.