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City Hall175 East 200 NorthSt. George, UT 84770(435) 627-4000
| March 14, 2010 |
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Seatbelt usage up! Most people will agree that wearing seat belts saves lives, but not every wears their seat belt. Recent changes in the Seat Belt law have helped to raise the number of people who are now wearing seat belts. Utah legislators have realized the effect that primary seat belt enforcement has had in other states and have implemented primary enforcement now in Utah. Seatbelt usage in the early 90's in Utah was at 42%. Now, with the new laws in place, the most recent seat belt usage survey conducted by the Utah Highway Safety Office shows seat belt usage at 80%. Although many people disagree with primary enforcement, the numbers show that primary enforcement works. Primary enforcement means that a law enforcement officer in Utah can stop you, and give you a citation, for not wearing a seatbelt (the seat belt violation was the primary reason for the stop). This primary enforcement, however, only applies to people under 19 years of age, passengers included. The most recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed what might be the reason for this. The NHTSA calculated that teen drivers 16 to 19 years old have a fatality rate 4 times higher than drivers 25 through 69 years old. For people 19 years and older, seat belt enforcement is only by secondary means (you have to stopped for another violation first). Safety advocates argue that Utah law should be changed so that police can stop and cite anyone in a car not wearing a seat belt. They quote statistics that show that seat belt usage is higher in the 17 states that provide primary enforcement for all seat belt violations. This has been proposed but, as of yet, has not been made into law. For any passenger under 16 years of age in violation of the seat belt law, the driver, no matter their age, can be stopped and cited for a seat belt violation. If you are 16 or older, and in violation of the seat belt law, you get to receive the ticket yourself. The final change made in the law deals with child restraint. The law now reads that a child under 5 years of age must be in a child restraint device approved by the Department of Public Safety. Sergeant David Moss St. George Police Department |
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