By HBTV
Friday, May 22, 2015 | 1:05 PM
https://hbtv.us/news/?story_id=2648
As summer approaches and another school year ends, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) urges Alabamians of all ages to ensure safety is part of their Memorial Day Weekend and during the summer months.
The official holiday traveling period runs from 6 p.m. Friday to midnight Monday, May 25, and Alabama State Troopers assigned to the Highway Patrol and Marine Patrol Divisions will work together to create a highly visible enforcement presence and to promote public safety through midnight Monday, May 31.
In addition, state law enforcement will combine forces with county and municipal agencies in Alabama to conduct various details designed to enhance public safety and to enforce all laws, including traffic, boating, and alcoholic beverage laws. Troopers also will join law enforcement partners across the nation in this year’s Click It Or Ticket safety campaign, which began Monday, May 18, and runs through the end of May 31, to promote the use of seat belts and child restraints. Troopers and other officers will be looking for motorists who are not buckled up. In Alabama, the seat belt law mandates that all front-seat occupants -- regardless of age -- be restrained.
ALEA urges Alabamians to:
• Remember Alabama’s seat belt law mandates that all front-seat occupants -- regardless of age -- be restrained. The state’s child restraint law requires the following size‐appropriate restraint systems for children riding in front and back seats: Infant‐only seats and convertible seats used in the rear‐facing position for infants until at least 1 year of age or 20 pounds; convertible seats in the forward position or forward‐facing seats until the child is at least 5 years of age or 40 pounds; booster seats until the child is 6 years of age; seat belts until the child is 15 years of age.
• Restrict access and closely monitoring teens to prevent underage use of alcoholic beverages.
• Avoid driving or boating while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Buckle up -- no matter how short the trip -- on the road or on the water. Occupants of all ages should use seat belts or child restraints when traveling by motor vehicles. On waterways, all occupants of water vessels should use U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets.
• Focus on driving or boating and avoiding such distractions as texting and talking on cell phones.
• Slow down in construction zones along the way. Drivers pose the greatest danger in work zone crashes by not paying attention, speeding and driving while impaired or distracted.
• Report anything suspicious (at school, public venues, etc.) to the Alabama Fusion Center’s tip line, 866.229.6220.
• Pay attention to weather conditions, particularly when there is thunder and lightning. Storms can come up quickly, especially in warm weather, so keep an eye to the sky. Watch for temperature changes, shifts in wind patterns and changes in cloud formations.
Story and photos courtesy of ALEA