Officials from the La Porte Police Department today announced that 179 citations were issued in La Porte, IN during the 2014 Safe Family Travel, Blitz 81. From November 14 – November 30 the La Porte Police Department joined more than 250 law enforcement agencies across the state to conduct high-visibility impaired driving and seatbelt patrols. The goal of the effort was to reduce the number of motorists killed or injured on Indiana roadways during the Thanksgiving holiday season.
During this two-week mobilization, 79.5 hours of seatbelt patrols and 57 hours of impaired driving patrols were conducted by La Porte Police Department officers. As a result, 91 seat belt citations, 23 speeding citations, two child restraint citations and two texting while driving citations. There were 5 DUI arrests made during the “Safe Family Travel” enforcement effort. Two felony and eight misdemeanor criminal arrests were made as well. Offices issued 202 warnings while working the extra patrols.
“The success of Safe Family Travel relies on thousands of Indiana law enforcement officers working thousands of overtime hours day and night enforcing Indiana traffic laws. The La Porte Police Department dedicated 136.5 hours of overtime to the effort to ensure that Hoosiers reached their destinations safely during the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Captain Tom Heath.
The seat belt usage rate in our community was measured through seat belt surveys back in October when we had an overall usage rate of 90.6%. Seat belt usage rates were measured again after the blitz and this time 93% of drivers were buckled up.
Operation Pull Over is a traffic safety grant program funded by federal highway safety funds and is administered through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. For more information on the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and its programs please visit http://www.in.gov/cji.