Indiana Officers Will Watch For Seatbelt Usage This Summer

AAA predicts that 37.6 million Americans will travel by car this weekend to destinations including the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - If you are traveling this coming Memorial Day weekend or for summer vacation, you may see more police on the highways.

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute says police in Indiana will participate in the Click it or Ticket enforcement blitz. Officers will be watching for motorists not using their seatbelt.

The overtime enforcement is paid with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funds administered by the ICJI.

Indiana law requires the driver and all passengers to buckle up. Children under age eight must be properly restrained in child car seat or booster seat.

The frequency of Hoosiers not buckling up has dropped to 6.6 percent, below the national average of 10.4 percent.

However, new data from ICJI and the Indiana University Public Policy Institute show that unrestrained motorists still make up 53 percent of traffic deaths. Unrestrained motorists are 10 times more likely to die in crashes in cars and SUVs, 14 times in pickup trucks, and 15 times in vans.