PARIS – Paris Patrolman Ray Paar said the weekend crew will be cracking down on drivers who don’t buckle up.

And the current fine for not wearing a seat belt is $62.50.

Paris police are participating in a national program – Operation ABC Mobilization – occurring from May 19 to June 1.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said more than 12,000 law enforcement agencies are expected to participate in the mobilization effort sometime during that two-week period.

NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge said currently 75 percent of drivers nationally use seat belts. His organization is shooting for 78 percent.

Paar said he has noticed seat belt use escalating locally over the past two years.

“It’s better, but still not as good as it could be,” Paar said. “Seat belts save lives and reduce the amount of injury in a collision.”

Paar said teens and young adults are killed at a far higher rate in crashes because they are inexperienced drivers, take more risks and have a low percentage of safety belt use.

According to NHTSA statistics, 5,341 teens died and thousands more were injured in traffic crashes in 2001.

The fatality rate for teens is twice that of older drivers and the risk of crashes for teens is four times that of older drivers. Two out of five deaths among teens are the result of traffic crashes.

“As a department, we’ve always taken the seat belt issue seriously,” Paar said. “As far as this weekend, it’ll be business as usual for me. Seat belts are one of my things.”

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