Law-enforcement officials in Arkansas are cracking down on seat-belt use through the end of the month, the State Police announced.

“We are committed and serious about this mobilization, by stepping up enforcement of our seat-belt laws, we are going to save lives.” Col. Steve Dozier, director of the Arkansas State Police, said in a statement.

The campaign will continue through midnight, Sunday, Nov. 28.

While the effort is concentrating much of its focus on passenger vehicles – specifically pickups – if truck drivers are pulled over for any reason and are not wearing a seat belt, they will also be ticketed, Ann Whitehead, safety program manager of the Highway Safety Office, told Land Line.

“Our mobilization is to get everyone to buckle up by enforcing the laws,” Whitehead said. “We want everyone – all motor vehicle drivers – to be buckled. It is the law that they should be buckled if they’re in the front seat.”

The effort is tied into a regional seat-belt campaign that involves Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and various Indian Nations. That campaign’s title – “Buckle Up in Your Truck” – may prove somewhat misleading to truck drivers, as it refers to the program’s primary focus on pickup trucks.

– By Mark H. Reddig, associate editor
mark_reddig@landlinemag.com