Click it or ticket: New seat belt law begins today
Starting today, you don’t have to be speeding or swerving to be pulled over by a law enforcement officer.
Motorists now can be stopped for failing to wear a seat belt and fined $93 as part of the primary enforcement of Florida’s safety belt requirements, according to a new law. Before today, failing to buckle up wasn’t reason enough for an officer to pull over a car.
Motorists can be ticketed if either they or their front seat passengers fail to buckle up. All passengers under 18 also are required to wear seat belts regardless of where they are sitting.
The bill also eliminates exemptions for passengers in pickup trucks.
The revision of the former seat belt law is called the “Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law.” Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti both lost their lives as a result of car crashes that happened while they were not wearing safety belts. Dori Slosberg, 14, died in 1996 and Katie Marchetti, 16, died in 2006.
“We’re going to be on the lookout no more or no less than we have in the past,” said Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Harwood. “When we see it now, we just don’t have to wait for another violation.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 87 percent of drivers wear seat belts in states with a primary seat belt law. That’s 14 percent higher than states with a secondary seat belt law.
A 2008 NHTSA study reported states with primary enforcement laws ranked in the top five for safety belt usage. Florida ranked 35th in the nation.
The NHTSA estimates Florida can expect to save 124 lives each year with the new law, and 1,700 people will be spared serious injuries. Estimates also show costs associated with accidents would be reduced by $408 million.
In 2007, statistics show that seat belt use saved 857 lives and $3.8 billion in costs.
The federal government has provided financial incentives for states to pass primary seat belt laws as part of the 2005 reauthorization of the highway bill known as the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Act. Legislation had to be passed and signed into law by June 30 to qualify for the federal money.
Florida has met the deadline and should receive $35.5 million from the federal government.
“Generally when new laws come in, we try to educate the public a little about what the new laws are,” Harwood said. “The seat belt law has been in existence for a period of time, but we’re still going to educate because a lot of people don’t realize it’s a primary reason for a stop now.”
