Louisiana achieves record 88.4% seatbelt usage rate

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana has achieved its highest-ever seatbelt usage rate at 88.4%, with officials crediting a remix of Lafayette music artist Cupid’s hit song “Cupid Shuffle” for helping drive the numbers.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission partnered with Cupid on a Valentine’s Day video promoting seatbelt safety to celebrate the record-high usage rate. The collaboration features a remix of Cupid’s international hit with new lyrics emphasizing the importance of wearing seatbelts.

“Nothing says ‘I love you’ more than, ‘I want you to wear your seat belt,’” said LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman. “And no one has ever expressed that more musically than Cupid.”

Jingle credited with driving usage rates

At LHSC’s request, Cupid remixed “Cupid Shuffle” with new words for a 2018 public service announcement called “Now Click.” The jingle has gained momentum and is credited with helping Louisiana achieve the record usage rate, according to an LHSC 2025 observational survey.

“I mean, every time the commercial comes on the radio, I get a call or a text from somebody saying, ‘I just heard you on the radio,’” Cupid said. “I’m like, ‘What song?’ They say, ‘The Click It song.’”

Freeman said the jingle is “catchy and fun, and I’d give Cupid another gold record if it were up to me.”

“There’s absolutely no doubt that this jingle has gotten into the heads of young drivers, reminding them to buckle up, and I’m certain it has saved lives,” Freeman said.

The video is available on YouTube and LHSC’s social media pages.

Personal connection drives artist’s involvement

Cupid said he decided to create the jingle for LHSC because seatbelt safety is a cause close to his heart.

“I had a cousin who I played football with who passed away in a car accident, and I just felt that it was something that needed to be done,” he said. “He was one of my closest friends, and (he and some friends) were leaving a football game, had a car accident, car flipped over, and everybody in the car was OK except him.”

Cupid also has a son who recently started driving.

“You’ve got to know every time he gets in that car, I’m nervous,” he said. Cupid’s son knows the jingle, “so that lets me know that we’re doing the right thing.”

Cupid said he felt it was right to give back to the community using his successful music career.

“Sometimes you’ve got to step out and help the community out and use your power and music to be able to touch people all over,” Cupid said. “At the end of the day, you have lessons, and you have blessings, and you take those lessons to try to create blessings for other people.”

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