05/16/17  With Summer Driving Near Law Enforcement Urges Everyone To Buckle Up

 

As of yesterday, 176 people have lost their lives on  Arkansas' highways since the first of the year. In one of the crashes we reported on, neither the driver nor the passenger were buckled up, the passenger was killed, the driver hospitalized in serious condition.

As Arkansans make plans for summertime road trips and vacations, law enforcement officers urge motorists to buckle up. State, county and city law enforcement officers will begin devoting additional patrols May 22, through June 4,  as part of the “Click It or Ticket” seat belt enforcement campaign.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost half of the drivers and passengers killed in vehicle crashes during 2015 were not wearing a seat belt. The percentage of fatalities in this category increases during the nighttime hours. Arkansas state law requires all front seat passengers, not just drivers, to buckle up. The law requires all children, under 15 years of age, to be properly secured in the vehicle. A child who is less than six years of age and who weighs less than sixty pounds shall be restrained in a child passenger safety seat. If the driver has a restricted license, all passengers in the vehicle must be properly buckled up.