(Versailles, Ind.) – Indiana State Police are planning a seatbelt crackdown starting Friday.
Troopers at the Versailles Post will participate in the federally funded Rural Demonstration Project, targeting vehicles with occupants not buckled up. The blitz runs through May 17.
According to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, 64 percent of the state’s total traffic fatalities occurred on rural roadways during 2011. In an effort to reduce these fatalities, approximately 24 Indiana law enforcement agencies throughout the state, in conjunction with the Indiana State Police, have been selected to take part in this year’s project. Participating agencies will be on the lookout for unrestrained motorists in all vehicles, including pickup trucks.
Since 2007, Indiana’s primary seat belt law has required that all passenger motor vehicle occupants, including those in pickup trucks, buckle up regardless of seating position. During Indiana’s 2011 “Click It or Ticket” mobilization, law enforcement officers cited more than 18,000 motorists for failure to comply with Indiana’s seat belt law.
The RDP enforcement project is a traffic safety enforcement project made available from federal highway traffic safety grants and administered by the ICJI.
