Strong Legislation—the Key To Saving Lives

Having a strong, well-written safety belt law is crucial to increasing safety belt use. Current recommendations for safety belt laws include the following:

• Provisions for primary enforcement.
  
  
• Coverage of all occupants in all seating positions while the vehicle is in motion (unless there is documentation from a physician for physical disability).
  
  
• Coverage of all passenger vehicle types, including taxicabs, pickup trucks, vans, SUVs, and cars.
  
  
• Penalties of not less than $50.
  
  
• Assignment of points on the driver’s license in those States with point systems. (In those States without point systems, not wearing safety belts should be considered a minor moving offense for the purpose of driver’s license records).

The Importance of Primary Occupant Protection Laws
Primary enforcement allows a law enforcement officer to stop a vehicle and issue a citation when the officer observes an unbelted driver or passenger. Secondary enforcement means a citation can be written only after the officer stops the vehicle or cites the offender for another infraction.

Virtually all traffic safety laws—and other laws, for that matter—are primary, except secondary enforcement safety belt use laws. In States with secondary laws, a law enforcement officer can stop a motorist for a burnt-out taillight or an expired license tag, for example, but he cannot stop a motorist for violating the State’s safety belt law, unless the officer observes another infraction.

Under the Buckle Up America campaign, NHTSA provides technical assistance and, upon request, expert testimony to States and national organizations on the benefits of primary occupant restraint laws. These benefits are well documented, as evidenced below.

In June 2002, for the first time, the average safety belt use rate in States with primary safety belt laws was 80 percent, compared with 69 percent in States without primary enforcement laws. Forty-nine States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia have had safety belt use laws since December 31, 2001, but only a third provided for primary enforcement. Increases in safety belt use have been made without a primary safety belt use law, but the greatest gains are possible when a primary law works in conjunction with enforcement, education, and partnership efforts.

An upgrade in a State’s safety belt law to primary enforcement will significantly raise safety belt and child safety seat use because increasing adult safety belt use has a significant impact on whether children are appropriately restrained. Observational surveys show that when drivers wear safety belts, children are restrained significantly more often than when drivers are unbuckled.

In 2002, NOPUS found that fully 92 percent of the time when a driver is belted his or her child passengers are restrained. In contrast, when the driver is not wearing a safety belt, children are restrained only 72 percent of the time.

The National Status of Safety Belt Laws
All States except New Hampshire have an adult safety belt law. (Only children younger than 18 are required to wear a safety belt in New Hampshire.) In 2002, Washington was the only State to pass a primary enforcement law. Primary enforcement legislation was considered by legislatures in Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine.

With the passage of its primary law, Washington became the 18th State to enact a primary safety belt law by December 31, 2002. The other States with primary laws in effect include Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas. Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia also have primary safety belt laws in effect.

Tribal Legislation
Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death among Native Americans/Alaska Natives (NA/AN) from 5- to 34 years of age. They are also the third leading cause of death among NA/AN of all ages. As part of the Buckle Up America campaign, NHTSA continues to work with tribes to provide education on safety belt and child safety seat use through its partnerships with the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

In 2002, after the passage of a primary restraint law in Washington, the Portland Area, and two Area reservations reported an increase in restraint use. Observational surveys on the Warm Springs Reservation indicated that restraint use increased from 16 percent to 46 percent among drivers and from 12 percent to 36 percent among passengers. The Yakima Nation passed a primary law in 2001. Observational surveys in 2002 indicated that restraint use continued to increase since the law went into effect. Restraint use was reported at 62 percent.

Two Tribes in the Bemidji Area passed primary restraint laws in 2002 and in April 2002 the Hannahville Tribal Council (Wilson, Michigan) passed a resolution adopting restraint use for all ages.

In July 2002, the Menominee Tribe (Keshena, Wisconsin) passed a primary restraint use law in a State with a secondary law. Enforcement of the new law is strong. One month after the law was passed, Tribal Police had issued 70 verbal warnings as a precursor to the issuance of citations.

As of March 1, 2002, all components of the Reno/Sparks Indian Colony (in the Phoenix Area) 2001 Traffic Safety Law became effective. The new law included primary child restraint device use provisions for children 5 years of age or younger or less than 60 pounds, and required children 6 years of age or older or 60 pounds to be properly secured in a child passenger restraint device. It also included a primary safety belt provision requiring any person driving a vehicle and any person 5 years of age or older or over 60 pounds to wear a safety belt.

The National Status of Child Passenger Safety Laws
All 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia have enacted child restraint laws, and all of these laws are primary, although the provisions vary from State to State. For example, some laws cover only infants, and others fail to cover all children in all seating positions. Among other deficiencies, some States do not require out-of-State vehicles to comply with their laws and others fail to address the problem of child passengers riding in pickup truck cargo areas.

To achieve reductions in injuries and fatalities among America’s children, child restraint laws should be strengthened to close these and other gaps. All such laws should include provisions that:

1. Require children 12-years-old and younger to be secured by an age-appropriate child restraint system in the rear seat of the vehicle, and eliminate exemptions related to “exceeding the number of available belts or restraints in the vehicle.”
   
   
2. Require all children up to age 16 (or the State’s driving age) to be properly restrained in all seating positions.
   
   
3. Require all children who have outgrown child safety seats to be restrained in booster seats until they are at least 8-years-old, unless they are 4 feet 9 inches tall.
   
   
4. Make the driver responsible for ensuring that children are placed in age- and size-appropriate restraints.
   
   
5. Ban passengers from the cargo area of pickups and other light trucks.
   
   
6. Include out-of-State vehicles, drivers, and children.
   
   
7. Assess a reasonable fine for noncompliance and earmark a portion of the revenues to help support State child passenger safety programs.
   
   
8. Eliminate exemptions and medical waivers because today’s child restraint systems can accommodate children with almost any type of physical impairment.

States That Amended Their Child Restraint Laws in 2002

Illinois: Illinois’s amended child restraint law now requires that a person transporting a child under age 4 secure the child in a federally approved child restraint system.

Rhode Island: Penalties were increased for all primary and secondary violations from $50 to $75. All references to the back seat were changed to “rear seating position.” The exemptions from the rear-seating-position requirement were clarified.

Maine: Requires children 4-8 and under 80 pounds to be in a federally approved booster seat.

Booster Seat Laws
Colorado, Maine, and Maryland passed booster seat laws in 2002. Colorado’s law, which was passed in June 2002, requires that children who are 4- or 5-years old and less than 55 inches tall be properly restrained in a booster seat or with a child safety-belt-positioning device. Under the new law, children ages 6 through 15 must be properly restrained in a safety belt. The law took effect on August 1, 2003. This effective date was preceded by a year of education before enforcement began. When enforcement began, officers gave warnings, not tickets, to drivers for one year.

Maine made considerable upgrades to its child passenger safety law, including a new booster seat requirement. The new law was passed in April 2002 and took effect January 1, 2003. The law requires that a child who weighs less than 40 pounds be secured in a child safety seat. The new law also requires that a child who weighs 40 pounds to 80 pounds and is under 8-years-old be placed in a booster seat.

Maryland adopted a law requiring that children under age 6 be properly restrained in child safety seats while riding in a vehicle, an upgrade of the State’s previous law that includes booster seats. Prior to passage, Maryland law only required children under 4 to use child safety seats. The law passed the Maryland Legislature in April 2002 and was signed into law by the governor in May 2002. The law took effect in October 2003.