VIDALIA, La. – Despite conducting several campaigns in recent years to encourage drivers to buckle up, Concordia Parish law enforcement agencies still handed out their share of seat belt citations during the Fourth of July holiday.

Vidalia police handed out 29 tickets to unbuckled drivers during the holiday, which lasted from 6 p.m. Friday through midnight Tuesday. &uot;That (number of tickets) is about the same as last year,&uot;&160;said George Rutherford, liaison officer for the Vidalia Police Department.

And Concordia Parish sheriff’s deputies handed out 26 tickets to drivers not wearing seat belts – up from just 10 citations last year, according to Sheriff’s Office reports.

Sheriff Randy Maxwell has attributed such success in large part to campaigns such as the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission’s 1999-2000 Safe and Sober Campaign.