Louisiana boosting its seatbelt enforcement efforts

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana police officers are beefing up their seatbelt enforcement efforts around the Memorial Day weekend.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission says a "Click It or Ticket" campaign is happening through June 3.

Officers will be looking for drivers and passengers who aren't buckled up, giving them $50 tickets for violating Louisiana's laws that require everyone in the car to wear a seatbelt.

The safety commission is providing money to law enforcement agencies to help them in their bolstered ticket-writing efforts for the seatbelt campaign.

Lisa Freeman, executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, said in a statement that a recent survey showed about 87% of people in Louisiana wear their seatbelts in vehicles. She says that's too low.