Law enforcement to crack down on seat belt offenders

JACKSON, Tenn. — Buckle up or get pulled over. The Tennessee Highway Safety Office will kick off its annual Seat Belts are for Everyone campaign on Feb. 1.

Deputies in Madison County said they will be watching. “I just hope everybody buckles up,” Madison County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Joseph Gill said. “It’s well worth the couple seconds to do it.”

Gill said you are more likely to survive a severe crash wearing a seat belt. “We’re trying to save people from getting hurt,” he said.

The sheriff’s office said last year this statewide campaign netted 21,562 seat belt citations and 1,717 child restraint violations, plus 723 other seat belt enforcement activities.

Driver Billy Joe Thomas said he wears a seat belt. “I think it keeps people from dying on the scene,” Thomas said.

If you get caught not wearing a seat belt, deputies said they will issue a citation.

Seat belt fines more than doubled in Tennessee in 2016. First-time offenders now pay $25 and repeat offenders get a $50 fine. “It’s a zero-tolerance type thing,” Gill said.

The SAFE campaign runs through Aug. 1.

The Union City Police Department said it also plans to participate in the statewide campaign. Officers said historically about 50 percent of Tennessee’s traffic deaths involve victims not wearing seat belts.