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The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission wants everyone to have a fine Thanksgiving instead of having to pay a Thanksgiving fine for not wearing a seat belt during the statewide Click It or Ticket campaign.
The campaign, which runs through Saturday, Nov. 30, is a statewide effort by multiple law enforcement partners to encourage people to buckle up. Deputy sheriffs, police officers, and Louisiana State Police will be patrolling roads and highways across Louisiana and giving tickets to drivers and passengers who are not wearing seat belts.
Every person traveling in a motor vehicle –– including those in a back seat –– must be properly restrained by a seat belt or a child safety seat, according to Louisiana law. A first-offense citation costs $50, and subsequent offenses are $75.
“Louisiana is at an all-time high seat belt usage rate of 88.4%,” LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said, referring to the 2024 Louisiana seat belt observational survey results. “That also means that almost 12% of the people in our state still refuse to buckle up, so we have to work harder to reach those people.”
Wearing a seat belt is the best action drivers and passengers can take to protect themselves from serious injury or death in a motor vehicle crash. In 2023, at least 56.5% of drivers and passengers who died in motor vehicle crashes in Louisiana were not properly using a seat belt or child safety seat, according to the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU.
“Since 2019, 54 people in Louisiana have died in crashes during the Thanksgiving holiday,” Freeman said. “While we cannot know with certainty if any of them would be with us this Thanksgiving had they worn their seat belts, we do know the odds would have been in their favor.”
In 2023, 454 people were injured on Louisiana roads during the Thanksgiving holiday period, according to CARTS. Some of those people may have escaped with less serious injuries or no injuries if they had worn a seat belt, Freeman said.
“Once you get in the habit of always using your seat belt, it becomes automatic,” Freeman said. “Our hope is that Click It or Ticket is the start of a great habit for the 12% of unbuckled drivers and passengers.”
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