By Alaina Denean Deshazo | The Selma Times-Journal
When Alabama State Senior Trooper Reginal King worked his first traffic fatality, it hit close to home for the young trooper.

“I can remember my very first traffic fatality, it included a 15-year-old in Tuscaloosa County. My youngest brother was 15 years of age, so they were the same age,” King said.

He remembers getting back home around 3 a.m. and calling his mom. He told her to go check on his brother, just to make sure he’s was there. His mom asked why he wanted her to do that, and he told her about the crash that he had just worked.

“I thought about my brother and it hit close to home,” King said. “You see so many families that are impacted by traffic fatalities, especially when there are children involved.”

In Alabama alone from Jan. 1 through Sept. 22, there have been 468 traffic deaths, up from 360 during the same time last year.

Five of those deaths have been in Dallas County.

“Of those [468] victims, [more than half] had the ability to put on a seatbelt, meaning the vehicle they operated or occupied had a seatbelt that was readily and accessible and for whatever reason the individual chose not to use the seatbelt,” King said.

King said convincing the public to buckle up is something that he and the rest of law enforcement try to do daily.

“Fifty percent of our traffic fatalities aren’t buckled up. We’ve got to get that down. The law enforcement, we cannot do it alone,” King said. “If we just take the initiative to make sure everybody in the vehicle was properly buckled that would definitely reduce the number of traffic fatalities.”

King said the seatbelt law doesn’t prevent car crashes from happening, but it can reduce the number of deaths that occur from those crashes.

“I’m a stickler for seat belts. Everyone needs to wear your seatbelt,” King said. “It doesn’t matter how short the distance, you need to buckle up. And not just buckle up, but you need to buckle up properly.”

King said the main two reasons for crashes in Alabama is speeding and driving under the influence.

“It starts with yourself. Accept responsibility. Do the responsible thing. Don’t drink and drive ever. Buzzed driving is drunk driving. The only way I can see those numbers decreasing is if everyone else just took it personal and just did not operate a motor vehicle while you’re impaired,” King said. “We’ve got to be more responsible.”