(Kentucky) Seat belt law goes into full effect - December 31, 2006
December 31, 2006
If you haven’t settled on a New Year’s resolution just yet, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program has one for you — buckle up and save lives.
The grace period for motorists not wearing seat belts is over, effective today. Instead of the friendly warnings with information and statistics about why buckling up is important, drivers now will face a $25 fine if stopped without it. Previously, law enforcement could cite motorists who were driving without a seat belt if they were pulled over for another offense. The new law, which passed in April, allows officers to pull over any motorist they see unbuckled.
“One of the things I think a seat belt citation does is establish probable cause for us to look for other violations,” said Berea Police Capt. Ken Clark, public affairs officer for the department. “It is especially helpful in DUI apprehension. That’s the way we have used it and it has worked very well for us.”
The law passed in the Kentucky House of Representatives in April with a 48-45 vote. A provision requiring children under 16 to wear helmets when riding all-terrain vehicles also was attached to the legislation. The passage of the law brought with it $11.2 million in federal funding, according to The Associated Press.
The grace period began July 12, allowing citizens more than five months to get in the habit of buckling up. Since that time, Kentucky State Police Lt. Eric Davis said troopers have issued 1,014 courtesy notices in the Post 7 area.
“Since the grace period began, we have been aggressively enforcing it in reference to issuing the courtesy notices to get people educated and prepared for January,” Davis said.
Wearing a seat belt saves lives, Davis said, and “statistically speaking” drivers are better off buckled in most collisions.
“You always hear that one person who says, ‘My friend died because they were wearing their seat belt,’” Davis said. “Those do happen, but they are rare cases and the odds lie in staying restrained in the vehicle.”
The number of traffic-related deaths have decreased this year, Clark said, and he speculated at this time next year the seat belt law will likely cause yet another decrease in fatalities on the road.
According to research done by the University of Kentucky’s Transportation Center and Kentucky Institute of Medicine, an estimated 62 fatalities are expected to be prevented annually, while saving the state more than $2 million in the first year in Medicaid costs. A 2005 study of seat belt usage rates placed Madison County citizens at 67 percent, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Web site. The state average seat belt usage also is 67 percent, according to the survey.
While there are still those who believe it is their personal right to decide what they do in their own vehicle, Davis recommend they remember buckling up is the law. If drivers choose not to wear their seat belts, they are subject to the consequences, both in fines and in their own safety.
“Everybody believes they are a cautious driver,” Davis said. “And you may be. You may follow every traffic law to the letter, but when you’re traveling through an intersection and meet the worst driver on the road and he runs the traffic light, you want to be prepared for that, too.”
Clark said he understands the rights of those who don’t want to wear seat belts, but said they also should look at the rights of society as a whole.
“If those people who don’t wear their seatbelts stressing their personal rights receive a serious spinal or head injury, somebody has to take care of them,” Clark said. “Whether it’s the insurance companies or the state, it in turn causes everybody else’s insurance to go up. It may not be intentional, but every year health insurance costs skyrocket and a lot of that is due to serious injuries that probably could have been prevented if people wore their seat belts.”
According to the GHSP, research has shown that a properly used seat belt will reduce the risk of front-seat passenger fatalities by 45 percent.
“Don’t become a tragic statistic, said GHSP Media Coordinator Sherry Bray. “The New Year’s holiday is a time to make resolutions that improve your life. The GHSP hopes that all Kentuckians will resolve to wear their seat belts in 2007.”
Kelly Foreman can be reached at kforeman@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.
Article Reference:
The Richmond Register - Buckle Up: Seat belt law goes into full effect today
If you haven’t settled on a New Year’s resolution just yet, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program has one for you — buckle up and save lives.
The grace period for motorists not wearing seat belts is over, effective today. Instead of the friendly warnings with information and statistics about why buckling up is important, drivers now will face a $25 fine if stopped without it. Previously, law enforcement could cite motorists who were driving without a seat belt if they were pulled over for another offense. The new law, which passed in April, allows officers to pull over any motorist they see unbuckled.
“One of the things I think a seat belt citation does is establish probable cause for us to look for other violations,” said Berea Police Capt. Ken Clark, public affairs officer for the department. “It is especially helpful in DUI apprehension. That’s the way we have used it and it has worked very well for us.”
The law passed in the Kentucky House of Representatives in April with a 48-45 vote. A provision requiring children under 16 to wear helmets when riding all-terrain vehicles also was attached to the legislation. The passage of the law brought with it $11.2 million in federal funding, according to The Associated Press.
The grace period began July 12, allowing citizens more than five months to get in the habit of buckling up. Since that time, Kentucky State Police Lt. Eric Davis said troopers have issued 1,014 courtesy notices in the Post 7 area.
“Since the grace period began, we have been aggressively enforcing it in reference to issuing the courtesy notices to get people educated and prepared for January,” Davis said.
Wearing a seat belt saves lives, Davis said, and “statistically speaking” drivers are better off buckled in most collisions.
“You always hear that one person who says, ‘My friend died because they were wearing their seat belt,’” Davis said. “Those do happen, but they are rare cases and the odds lie in staying restrained in the vehicle.”
The number of traffic-related deaths have decreased this year, Clark said, and he speculated at this time next year the seat belt law will likely cause yet another decrease in fatalities on the road.
According to research done by the University of Kentucky’s Transportation Center and Kentucky Institute of Medicine, an estimated 62 fatalities are expected to be prevented annually, while saving the state more than $2 million in the first year in Medicaid costs. A 2005 study of seat belt usage rates placed Madison County citizens at 67 percent, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Web site. The state average seat belt usage also is 67 percent, according to the survey.
While there are still those who believe it is their personal right to decide what they do in their own vehicle, Davis recommend they remember buckling up is the law. If drivers choose not to wear their seat belts, they are subject to the consequences, both in fines and in their own safety.
“Everybody believes they are a cautious driver,” Davis said. “And you may be. You may follow every traffic law to the letter, but when you’re traveling through an intersection and meet the worst driver on the road and he runs the traffic light, you want to be prepared for that, too.”
Clark said he understands the rights of those who don’t want to wear seat belts, but said they also should look at the rights of society as a whole.
“If those people who don’t wear their seatbelts stressing their personal rights receive a serious spinal or head injury, somebody has to take care of them,” Clark said. “Whether it’s the insurance companies or the state, it in turn causes everybody else’s insurance to go up. It may not be intentional, but every year health insurance costs skyrocket and a lot of that is due to serious injuries that probably could have been prevented if people wore their seat belts.”
According to the GHSP, research has shown that a properly used seat belt will reduce the risk of front-seat passenger fatalities by 45 percent.
“Don’t become a tragic statistic, said GHSP Media Coordinator Sherry Bray. “The New Year’s holiday is a time to make resolutions that improve your life. The GHSP hopes that all Kentuckians will resolve to wear their seat belts in 2007.”
Kelly Foreman can be reached at kforeman@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.
Article Reference:
The Richmond Register - Buckle Up: Seat belt law goes into full effect today
