By Alexandra Hedrick

Picayune Item

 

The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department will be increasing their presence on the road from May 19 to June 1 as part of the statewide “Click it or Ticket” campaign.

Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said the department has already conducted one checkpoint since the campaign began on Monday. He said the checkpoint occurred in Nicholson on Tuesday where officers checked for seatbelt usage, proper child restraints and impaired drivers.

The Mississippi Office of Highway Safety provides funding to the department that pays for officer overtime, which allows the department to increase their presence during the campaign, Tucker said.

“Over my career, I’ve worked several traffic accidents where if someone had been restrained or wearing their safety belt, not only would there not be a death involved, but most likely there would’ve been very minor injuries,” Tucker said.

According to the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety, seat belt usage has decreased from 83 percent in 2012 to 74.4 percent in 2013.

Fatalities increased by 5.3 percent from 2012. According to the statistics, there were 613 deaths in 2013 due to a lack of seatbelt usage.

Tucker said he doesn’t understand why usage has decreased in the last year because the hazards of driving continue to increase.

In addition to more drivers on the roads, there are more wild and domestic animals on the roads combined with the increased usage of cell phones and texting while driving, Tucker said.

Parents can set a good example for children by wearing their seatbelts and ensuring their progeny are buckled up.