St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office will join law enforcement agencies across Louisiana and the nation this week in participating in the seat belt enforcement campaign “Click It or Ticket’.

Throughout the campaign, which covers the Memorial Day holiday weekend, St. James Parish Deputies will be stepping up seat belt and child safety restraint enforcement day and night through out the entire parish in an effort to increase usage and save lives.

According to the National Highway Safety Commission,statistics show that 21,253 occupants of passenger cars,trucks,vans and SUVs were killed in motor vehicle crashes nationwide in 2011 and 52 percent were NOT wearing seat belts at the time of the fatal crashes. While not all crashes are survivable, seatbelts can greatly decrease an occupant’s chance of death and reduce the extent of injury. Deaths involving seat belt non-use are more prevalent at night than during the daytime. According to NHTSA, 62 percent of the 10,135 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 during the overnight hours were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.

Misuse of child safety seats can be attributed to the variety of child seats available and the variety of vehicles on the market today. Why are child safety seats so important? Research shows they are 71% effective in reducing deaths for infants and 54% effective in reducing toddler deaths during a motor vehicle crash. But it’s important to remember, child safety seats are only effective if used correctly. Studies have shown that as many as 3 out of 4 car seats are used incorrectly.

The “Click It or Ticket’ seat belt enforcement initiative will run until June 2,2013 and is funded with federal grant money distributed through the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. For more on the national Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov . For more information on Child restraint or on proper instalation contact the St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office and set up an appointment with one of our certified technicians Sgt. Anthony Joseph or Deputy Dustin Poche.