VIDALIA — After warning motorists to click it, 170 motorists instead got a ticket as a part of the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office’s Click It, Or Ticket campaign.

In total, the sheriff’s office found 307 motorists not buckled up during Louisiana’s annual campaign.

The two-week campaign began on May 21 after the sheriff’s office received a $10,000 grant — specifically dedicated to paying two to three deputies to work overtime during the campaign.

The grant required the sheriff’s office to “make two personal contacts per hour.” Chief Deputy David Hedrick described a contact as any time a motorist is pulled over.

The sheriff’s office made 23.6 contacts per day, or less than one contact per hour. Though, Hedrick said he was satisfied with the number of tickets issued.

“It’s about where we need to be,” he said.

Hedrick said deputies must see motorists not wearing seatbelts to issue a citation, but deputies may also issue seat belt citations when stopping motorists for unrelated offenses.

In some cases, citations weren’t issued. Of the 307 incidents logged, 137 were warnings.

“We don’t want residents to think we are coming down hard and hammering them,” Hedrick said. “We are hoping that our work will show people that it’s important to buckle up.”

The sheriff’s office fines motorists $25 per seat belt violation, meaning the 170 tickets should amount to $4,250 for CPSO.

Hedrick said the sheriff’s office plans to upgrade outdated equipment with the money.