Seat-belt blitz to target pickup truck drivers

Those motorists are among least likely to buckle up, survey shows

By LAUREN LEACH

leleach@thestate.com

Law or no law, some people still refuse to buckle up — and pickup truck drivers are among the worst offenders.

Pickup truck drivers feel safe because they are in bigger vehicles, said Col. Russell Roark, commander of the Highway Patrol. Often they don’t use their seat belts.

“Most will tell you they just forget,” Roark said.

The state’s annual blitz to increase seat-belt use — which kicks off Sunday and ends June 4 — will focus, in part, on pickup truck drivers. The campaign includes TV and radio ads featuring the character Seatbelt Guy and statewide enforcement efforts.

SURVEY RESULTS

An April survey of South Carolina motorists showed:

• 58.8 percent of truck drivers in urban areas wore seat belts, compared to 76 percent of car drivers

• 54.3 percent of pickup truck drivers in rural areas wore seat belts, compared to 67.8 percent of car drivers

• Overall, more than 30 percent of S.C. motorists are not wearing seat belts. Nationwide, the figure is about 18 percent.

“That’s why we’re doing the Buckle Up campaign again and again and again,” S.C. Department of Public Safety spokesman Sid Gaulden said. “This is something that needs to be ingrained in people’s psyche.”

South Carolina’s overall seat-belt usage hasn’t changed much since the state’s stronger seat-belt law went into effect Dec. 9.

The survey was prepared by the Department of Statistics at USC. The department sent out people to observe drivers on roadways throughout the state.

SEAT-BELT CAMPAIGN

The “Buckle Up South Carolina. It’s the law, and it’s enforced” campaign will debut this month, along with Seatbelt Guy.

Seatbelt Guy represents the seat-belt indicator light on the dash of vehicles.

One of the radio spots will feature nationally known radio personalities John Boy and Billy.

NEW LAW

Under the new seat-belt law, police can issue a $25 ticket to anyone in a vehicle — driver or passenger, for a maximum of $50 per car — who isn’t wearing a seat belt. Before, police could ticket only a driver and only if they saw the driver commit another traffic violation first.

Since the new law went into effect, 42,510 people have been ticketed for not wearing seat belts, the department reported.

Although the survey showed about the same number of people are wearing seat belts despite the new law, public safety officials are encouraged by one statistic: Compared to this time last year, there have been about 60 fewer traffic fatalities.

Reach Leach at (803) 771-8549.