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Louisiana law enforcement officers are cracking down on unbuckled pickup truck drivers and passengers with a $50 ticket and a warning that they risk being seriously injured or killed in a crash by not wearing a seat belt.

Through April 27, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission is sponsoring the Buckle Up in Your Truck campaign. This enforcement wave provides extra funding for law enforcement officers to pull over pickup truck drivers if they or any of their passengers are not properly wearing their seat belts.

“We know that pickup truck drivers are less likely than other drivers to wear their seat belts,” LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said. “What’s happening is that too many pickup truck drivers are getting killed.”

In 2023, 62% of all pickup truck drivers who were killed in crashes were not wearing a seat belt, according to data from the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU. That percentage is higher for pickup truck drivers than it is for drivers of cars, vans, and SUVs.

Each occupant of a motor vehicle, including those in the back seat, must properly use a seat belt or child seat in Louisiana. A first-offense fine is $50, and subsequent violations are $75.

A 2024 LHSC observational survey shows that 88.4% of all car, truck, and van drivers and passengers in Louisiana use their seat belts. While that is an all-time high rate for Louisiana, it remains stuck under 90% because only 82.7% of people in pickups buckle up.

The national seat belt use rate was at 91.2% in 2024. So, there is room for improvement in Louisiana.

“Occupants in pickup trucks used seat belts less often than occupants in other vehicle types,” the researchers wrote. “That has been the case every year of this survey,” since 2017.

The 2024 survey also reveals that people in some areas of the state buckle up in their truck more than others. People in the Shreveport area had the state’s highest pickup truck seat belt usage rate at 93.9%, while those in the Alexandria region had the lowest rate at 66.0%.

“The bottom line is, buckle up in your truck, save 50 bucks, and possibly save your life,” Freeman said.

The “Buckle Up in Your Truck” statewide enforcement campaign runs each year during the third week of April.