The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office will be participating in a grant-funded enforcement effort aimed at keeping drivers and passengers safe in pick-up trucks.

Extra deputies will be on patrol between April 21-27 to watch for drivers and passengers who don’t wear seatbelts while traveling in a truck. Violators will be ticketed. The initiative is called “Buckle Up in Your Truck” and is funded by the Louisiana Highway Safety Administration.  

State observation surveys and fatality data show that pick-up truck drivers and passengers fall well behind occupants of other kinds of passenger vehicles when it comes to wearing seat belts. Statistics also show that a pick-up truck is twice as likely to roll over than a car when involved in a fatal crash.

“Buckle Up in Your Truck” is a high-visibility enforcement and awareness campaign to encourage seatbelt use and reduce unrestrained fatalities among pick-up truck drivers and passengers. Taking the time to buckle up before every trip is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash, said Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator.

Under Louisiana law, all occupants must wear a seat belt when a vehicle weighing 10,000 pounds or less is in motion. Children under the age of six or less than 60 lbs. must be in a child-restraint system or booster seat that is age and size appropriate. Children six to 12 must be restrained by a lap belt, shoulder harness, or an age/size-appropriate child safety seat or booster seat.