'Click it or Ticket' campaign begins in Lauderdale County

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. - From May 24th to June 6th, the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department is looking for anyone not wearing a seatbelt. It’s either click it or ticket.

The ‘Click it or Ticket’ campaign comes around each year and is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun says this allows funding for off duty deputies to work extra shifts to issue citations for those not in a seatbelt.

“We’ll have additional deputies out working day and night looking for the restrained drivers or passengers in a vehicle and we’ll be doing that for the next couple of weeks--joining agencies all across our country," said Calhoun.

Calhoun says during the last campaign which was November 9th-November 29th of 2020, there were 191 seatbelt citations and 21 child restraints. He says simply wearing a seatbelt can save your life.

“It's that simple. They reduce serious injuries and deaths. We ask the community to join us in this," said Calhoun. "Make it a habit.”

The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department says the best thing to do to avoid a citation is to put your seatbelt on as soon as you get in the vehicle.