Click It- Your Loved Ones Depend On You

As the busy summer travel season begins, we are reminding motorists that seat belts save lives. SMPSO deputies are joining law enforcement agencies across the country for the high-visibility "Click It or Ticket" enforcement campaign, which runs through the end of the month.

The initiative aims to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries by ensuring every driver and passenger is buckled up. Whether you are traveling across the parish or just down the street, Louisiana law requires everyone in the vehicle to wear a seat belt, regardless of seating position.

"𝑆𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠," said Sheriff Gary Driskell. "𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑠; 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝑊𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒."
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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰:
Day and Night: Extra enforcement will be active 24/7. High-visibility patrol deputies will be specifically looking for unrestrained occupants during both daylight and nighttime hours.
Every Seat Matters: Ensure children are in the appropriate car seats or boosters and that rear-seat passengers are buckled in.
The Cost of a Ticket: 𝐵𝑒𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒.

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office encourages all residents to set the example for their families and friends. No matter the type of vehicle you drive or the distance you are traveling, please take two seconds to buckle up.

For more information on the "Click It or Ticket" campaign, visit NHTSA.gov/ClickIt.