MONTGOMERY – Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded nine grants to support the “Click It or Ticket” traffic safety campaign now underway. The effort continues over the Memorial Day weekend through Sunday, June 2. Law enforcement agencies across the state are working overtime to enforce Alabama’s seat belt laws and remove dangerous drivers from the roadways as part of the enforcement campaign. The grants, totaling $200,000, pay overtime for officers to conduct seat-belt safety checkpoints and extra patrols in areas where a high number of vehicle crashes have occurred. Jim Byard Jr., director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, said the goal of the campaign is to save lives and reduce injuries. “The extra patrols and increased visibility of law enforcement officers should remind motorists that seat belts and safe driving are especially critical during major holidays,” Byard said. Bentley awarded grants to the following traffic safety offices: · $13,620 to Shelton State Community College for the West Alabama Community Traffic Safety Office that serves Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Perry, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa counties · $17,800 to Enterprise State Community College for the Southeast Alabama Regional Highway Safety Office that serves Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Pike counties · $21,980 to the Etowah County Commission for the Northeast Alabama Traffic Safety Office that serves Cherokee, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Madison and Marshall counties · $16,240 to Gadsden State Community College for the East Alabama Highway Safety Office that serves Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Randolph, Talladega and Tallapoosa counties · $26,180 to the Mobile County Commission for their South Regional Highway Safety Office that serves Baldwin, Escambia and Mobile counties · $37,700 to Jefferson State Community College for the Greater Birmingham Highway Traffic Safety Program that serves Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair and Walker counties · $17,800 to the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission for their Highway Traffic Safety Division that serves Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Marengo, Monroe, Washington and Wilcox counties · $27,220 to Northwest Shoals Community College for the North Alabama Highway Safety Office that serves Colbert, Cullman, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Marion, Morgan and Winston counties · $21,460 to the city of Montgomery for the Central Alabama Highway Safety Office that serves Autauga, Bullock, Elmore, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery and Russell counties ADECA is administering the grants from funds made available to the state by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The department provides support for a wide range of programs that boost law enforcement and traffic safety, workforce development, energy conservation, economic development, water resource management and recreation. Alabama state troopers and more than 200 local police, sheriff’s and campus security departments use ADECA funding to support their participation in traffic safety enforcement campaigns each year. A complete list of participants in the current “Click It or Ticket” campaign can be found on the ADECA website at www.adeca.alabama.gov/Divisions/lets/TrafficSafety/Pages/ClickItOrTicket.aspx.