Stay Strapped this Holiday weekend

Holidays are filled with day-long celebrations, and Independence Day is no exception. But July 4 fun doesn’t give drivers an excuse to throw caution to the wind.  As you all know this weekend the roads will be busy with fun on the road and fireworks in the sky.  However , be careful or this weekend can change your life forever.   Driving without your seat belt on can leave to serious injuries or death.

According to a release , The Texas Department of Public Safety has already begun to increase patrols through July 6, hoping to prevent alcohol-related crashes. During this time last year, troopers arrest over 650 drunk drivers and issued over 10,000 tickets — nearly 9,000 for speeding and 1,600 for seat belt and child seat violations. 

The Texas Department of Transportation is working with DPS to encourage everyone on Texas roads to buckle up — particularly focusing on pickups — with a new educational campaign, “Buckle Up In Your Truck.”  According to TX DOT, the state has seen record highs of seat belt use among people in cars, but not among truck drivers and passengers.

The summer campaign’s purpose is to encourage those in pickups to buckle up on Texas roads. Being in a large vehicle, such as a truck or SUV, brings a feeling of protection because of the vehicle’s size, said TxDOT Traffic Operations Division Director Carol Rawson.  “Pickup truck drivers and passengers tend to be younger and male, and they are not getting the message that seat belts save lives,” she said.

“In fact, crashes involving pickup trucks can be particularly deadly because of the tendency for the trucks to roll over and for occupants to be thrown from the vehicles unless they are buckled up.”