Seat Belt Legislation Advances

Last updated Monday, February 26, 2007 9:11 PM CST in Topics

By Doug Thompson
The Morning News

    LITTLE ROCK -- Legislation that would authorize police to pull over drivers and ticket them for not wearing seat belts received a Senate committee's endorsement Monday.

    The Senate Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs Committee advanced Senate Bill 227 despite objections by opponents who worried about the potential for civil rights abuses.

    Driving without wearing seat belts already is against Arkansas law, but it is a secondary offense, meaning offenders can be cited only if they are pulled over for some other traffic offense.

    Attorney General Dustin McDaniel testified before the committee Monday that the effect of Senate Bill 227 by Sen. Hank Wilkins, D-Pine Bluff, would be "to allow the police to enforce an existing law."

    The fine for a violation would be $25.

    Also, the state would receive $9.5 million in federal funding to pay for campaigns to increase awareness of driver safety issues, McDaniel and others said.

    Sarah Bottoms, daughter of former state Rep. Jan Judy of Fayetteville, said a mandatory seat belt law might have saved the life of Bottom's daughter, Brittaney Ann Allen, who was not wearing a seat belt when she died in a traffic accident.

    "If there had been a primary seat belt law, perhaps she'd be here today," Bottoms told the committee.

    Seventy-five people who have died in accidents on Arkansas highways this year were not wearing seat belts, she said.

    If public safety was the only issue, the bill would be fine, said Latrece E. Gray, a member of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission. The commission opposes the bill.

    "It's great in theory, but putting it into action can increase racial profiling. Our concern is that this law would be used to pull over African-Americans, Hispanics and other people of color," Gray said. "If you want to protect the public, don't criminalize them. We did not criminalize smoking. We educated people about the risks."

    Wilkins, a past leader of the Legislative Black Caucus, dismissed the argument.

    "Bad police already have options and opportunity to harass," he said, adding that greater use of seat belts would save lives.

    "I never once cut a dead body out of a seat belt," said McDaniel, a former Jonesboro police officer.

    Figures presented to the committee showed that Arkansas ranks ninth in the country in traffic fatalities per mile driven, largely because of the high number of rural roads, where accidents are twice as likely.

    "I've never voted for this before, but now I have four grandchildren who are driving automobiles and will soon have five," said Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle. "I would never forgive myself if something happened and I didn't vote for this."

    The panel endorsed the measure on a voice vote, with only Sen. Jerry Taylor, D-Pine Bluff, voting against it.

    The bill goes to the Senate.

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    Reader Comments (24 comment(s))


    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.

    CHOICE wrote on Feb 26, 2007 10:22 PM:

    " I wear my seat belt by choice NOT because of a secondary state law, just as others DO NOT wear them, by choice. It seems as though the elected officials (or relatives of officials) have a personal crusade and want laws enacted to the masses because of their beliefs. I don't beleive that racial profiling is an issue either. Where I live I see more whites (as I am) than any other race ignoring the law. It's also amazing that school children can ride the buses for many miles without being belted in their seats yet when they depart that bus and load in to family vehicle to ride down a country road a half of mile to their house the parent can be cited for the belt law as well as endangering the welfare of a minor. It just doesn't add up (other than the increase in revenue for the state and cost savings for the insurance companies). And if that isn't the case why not pull over the people who ARE wearing seat belts and reward them with $25.00 and maybe others will start to buckle up because of their CHOICE. "

    My Favorite Truck... wrote on Feb 27, 2007 12:36 AM:

    " only came with the 70's model lap belts. Not being able to see a shoulder harness would handicap the officer who pulled me over under this new law, since seat belt use has always been our family policy. Hopefully this law would require that all officers receive instruction in the evolution of seat belts in automotive history. "

    No more Laws stop this madness Now wrote on Feb 27, 2007 6:08 AM:

    " Sick Controlling people who call themselves legislators must be stopped. We the people are really tired of your rules.Say what you will of the Ten Commandments I'm thankful their are only Ten of them. "

    Legislature at their Best wrote on Feb 27, 2007 7:44 AM:

    " I can't believe they would throw the Racial Profiling into this discussion. It's beginning to be more minorities whom are profiling against whites by stating that all white law enforcement officers racial profile. Go to Springdale and Rogers, who do you deal with more, Hispanics. Why? because they live in lower income, higher crime rated areas. After midnight, drive around these two towns on a weekend and count which race is on the street. I'm definetely not saying that it's their fault or they are the root of all evil, but for heaven's sake get real people. And for somebody in Legislature to bring this up is just plain stupid and get them out of their position. "

    EMT wrote on Feb 27, 2007 8:16 AM:

    " I am a EMT and also a Rescue Tech I would recommend for everyone to wear I seat belt I know first hand they work I have bveen on scenes where if they were not not used the person would have not survived I tell everyone to use them they work and will save your life. Be Smart "

    Darci wrote on Feb 27, 2007 9:34 AM:

    " This should be our choice!! We are intellegent adults we know what could happen or not happen. We are supposed to be free to make our own choices. How many of our choices are they going to take before they stop? "

    Misconceptions wrote on Feb 27, 2007 9:34 AM:

    " I would like to point out a few things here. First of all- I was in that room during the discussion. At no time did the senators bring up race- it was brought up by a very handsom tall black woman. At the time I thought "what are you talking about?" She obviosly has never been to NWA. On top of that- Senator Wilkins who brought the bill to the table is black. It was very insulting to him. Now, I am a very big proponent of seat belts and absolutely belive in this law. That being said,some of the discussion was rediculous! By the way- you and I pay every day for those who don't wear their seat belt. They don't want to be fined $25 but they have no problem being taken to the ER where they get treated for free (you and I pay for that out of state $). So if you want to make it about losing things, remember this-Every penney we spend on their continuing care, many times lifelong, is a penney we can't spend fixing bad roads or improving schools or putting medical care in rural areas,etc. Just a thought or two. "

    Get informed people! wrote on Feb 27, 2007 9:53 AM:

    " If you care about anyone close to you, you should care about wearing a seatbelt. It is a proven fact that seatbelts save lives. Look at any statistics in government documents or on the internet (non-government). Do you have the choice to drive your vehicle at night with a broken tail light? Of course you do, but you will get stopped because it is a law to not have broken tail lights on your vehicle. You people against the seatbelt law are not thinking. Please consider the impact of you not wearing your seatbelt. How will that effect your spouse, children, when they find you slammed into the pavement because you wanted the freedom to be thrown from your vehicle? I don't care if you live or die, but your spouse, children, parents, or sibilings may. By the way, it already is a law to wear your seatbelt. "

    Freedom of choice wrote on Feb 27, 2007 9:56 AM:

    " Guess what? If you don't like it, move. The reason why you live longer today than in recent decades is because of laws. I guess you could move to a 3rd world country where you could have all the freedom you desire. "

    What about the kids? wrote on Feb 27, 2007 10:50 AM:

    " Folks, we have lost way too many of our children because they exercised a "choice" that they didn't understand the consequences of. How many of you have been at an absolutely heart-wrenching accident that led to the death of someone you love, simply because they didn't have a seat belt on. I have. I've seen the toll it takes on their family. We need to be supportive of this bill....I'll go one further....we need to make our graduated driving license requirements even tougher than they are now. With as much traffic as we have, and our rural roads as horrible as they are, it is not like it was 20-30 years ago when I learned to drive. Let's get them prepared in every way we can to go out and drive...and to make wise choices, such as wearing a seat belt. "

    FOC is BS wrote on Feb 27, 2007 11:36 AM:

    " And a seat belt would have saved the little girl that got ran over? This is just an attempt at revenue enhancement disguised as safety. Hug my nutts liberals. "

    words do matter wrote on Feb 27, 2007 2:39 PM:

    " When the seatbelt law first came about, they assured us it would only be a secondary offense. Later, they began having special days of the year when it would be a primary offense. Now they are making it permanent, proving the thing was a lie from the start. Which is worse, dying in a car accident, or dying as a liar? "

    in response to "words do matter" wrote on Feb 27, 2007 4:46 PM:

    " I'll ask you, if it was your child, which would be worse.... "

    Not to be mean, but wrote on Feb 27, 2007 5:52 PM:

    " "Sarah Bottoms, daughter of former state Rep. Jan Judy of Fayetteville, said a mandatory seat belt law might have saved the life of Bottom's daughter, Brittaney Ann Allen, who was not wearing a seat belt when she died in a traffic accident." Or maybe she'd be alive today if her mother had stressed to her the importance of wearing a seat belt. There's already a law on the books requiring you to wear your seat belt and she didn't, and neither do thousands of other people. Will a new law change their mind? No, don't think so. "

    And some more wrote on Feb 27, 2007 5:58 PM:

    " No. 1, Arkansas is selling out, prostituting themselves for federal money. No. 2, This will encourage racial profiling because officers will be able to pull over Hispanic people to find out their immigration status because they aren't wearing seatbelts. Officers already use the busted tail light and failure to use blinkers as an excuse, this is one more. No. 3, to Misconceptions -- you assume that people who don't use their seat belts get free medical care. Are you saying only poor people don't use common sense? Or only illegal Hispanics? Sounds like you're making your own misconceptions there. "

    to "not to be mean, but" wrote on Feb 27, 2007 7:36 PM:

    " That was mean. You are speaking about something you know absolutely NOTHING about. I know Sarah and know that she stressed to Brittaney on more than one occassion to buckle her seat belt. However, as many teens do, Brittaney thought that she was invincible. If you knew the family, you would hang your head in shame about making the comments you just made in your post....Have you done ANY research on the statistics of those states that have a primary seatbelt law. Obviously not. "

    Once again, get informed people wrote on Feb 27, 2007 8:47 PM:

    " Part of this same article from the NWA Times: Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who is pushing for the bill’s passage, said an officer wouldn’t be allowed to pull someone over just to see if the driver is wearing a seat belt. “In order to have probable cause that a driver’s not wearing a seat belt, almost always you’re going to have to be able to see,” he said. High speeds and darkness would make that more difficult, he acknowledged. He said Arkansas should join the 38 states that have similar laws. “The facts nationally have not borne out that freedoms are lost,” McDaniel said. “In fact, lives are saved.” Also why don't you read the actual? bill: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2007/public/SB227.pdf "

    Doesn't Figure wrote on Feb 27, 2007 8:49 PM:

    " Everyone keeps saying " It's for the childrens safety" it's not about choice. Well, the school children riding in the buses don't really have much of a choice now do they. They couldn't buckle up even if they wanted to. Our law makers are setting a real good example aren't they. Our present seat belt law isn't even enforced and yet law makers want another law passed. "

    on school buses wrote on Feb 27, 2007 9:49 PM:

    " As for school buses, our children are safer on school buses than you think. Only 6 children died last year in bus accidents. They are larger, more crumple zones, higher seat backs, etc....The simple fact of the matter is that if you don't buckle your seat belt, chances are your children aren't buckled in either. It just makes sense, regardless of how you feel about government, laws, race discrimination, yada, yada, yada...if it saves lives, what else matters???? "

    Go Figure wrote on Feb 28, 2007 1:51 AM:

    " Whats the sense in having a law for a law . Legislators go get a real job. "

    government sucks wrote on Feb 28, 2007 2:00 AM:

    " ITS ABOUT THE 9.5 MILLION DOLLARS OF federal funding. "

    to ON SCHOOL BUSES wrote on Feb 28, 2007 5:45 AM:

    " WOW "ONLY" 6 children died. Just think had they had seat belts on they might be alive today. "

    Misconceptions, again wrote on Feb 28, 2007 7:13 AM:

    " At no time did I say explicitly or by implication that only illegal hispanics get in accidents. I personnally know many people of many races. I am "white" I guess. Both sides of my family have American Indian which, not so long ago, were in the same boat as the above mentioned. I even know several illegal hispanics. I do think they should get legal- which I have said before to them. I also understand that the US makes it very difficult to do so. I also think this is a diversionary tactic to take the real issue off the table. The real issue is noone should be awakened in the middle of the night to find out their child is dead. It is also not just about children. It is just easier to start people out right than to retrain them. I remember when the seat belt law went in to effect. I had to get used to it. My kids on the other hand don't now or haven't ever not known to wear them. The other thing about buses is another red herring. I agreed with you until I wondered why more people weren't complaining and did the research (non-government and government studies). I really wish no kid was dieing on our roads-truth is we have so many ENFORCED laws protecting the big yellow vehicles, as we shoiuld, coupled with the design-much safer "

    on school buses wrote on Mar 2, 2007 6:29 PM:

    " Arkansas has one of the highest rates of childhood death in the nation with 33 deaths per 100,000 as compared to the national average of 26 deaths per 100,000. From 1995 to 2000, there were 297 traffic fatalities involving children under 16 years old. In addition to this human toll, traffic crashes cost Arkansans $2.6 billion a year, including an estimated $272 million in medical costs. Children who ride unrestrained are at greater risk for injury or death in the event of a crash. In 2000, there were 40 traffic fatalities (motor vehicle occupants) involving children under the age of 16; of these, 26 were not restrained. Moreover in 2000, restraint use was lower in rural areas (45 percent) than in urban areas (50.2 percent). In Arkansas, a predominantly rural state, an estimated 35 percent of parents do not have age-appropriate car safety seats for their children, either because they cannot afford one or because they do not realize the importance of safety seats. bottom line; buses arent the biggest problem at hand right now, face the facts!!! "


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