Washington Becomes 18th State to Enact Primary Seat Belt Enforcement

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- The National Safety Council today applauded Washington Governor Gary Locke for signing HB 1460, a bill that allows police officers to ticket a driver solely for not wearing a seat belt. Washington becomes the 18th state, as well as the District of Columbia, to enact such a strong law.

``The state of Washington has a long, proud history as being a leader in highway safety,'' said Chuck Hurley, Vice President of the National Safety Council's Transportation Safety Group and Executive Director of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign. ``With a strong commitment from law enforcement, this law can help redefine excellence in highway safety. Washington should be a model for other states to achieve high seat belt use.

``The difference between Washington's current belt use rates and high belt use rates can often be measured in teenagers. This law will increase seat belt use by teenagers and will thus reduce the number of teenagers that die in motor vehicle crashes in Washington,'' said Hurley.

Washington safety officials predict that as many as 36 lives will be saved as a result of primary enforcement this year alone. In 2000, 107 teens died in traffic crashes in Washington.

``Collisions are also costly to society,'' Governor Locke said, noting a recent Harborview Medical Center study that indicated 1,865 unbuckled crash victims had to be hospitalized for their injuries in 1999 when a seat belt would have prevented their hospitalization. According to the preliminary findings of the study, unbuckled Washington motorists count for $51 million per year in preventable hospital costs.

``In addition to these cost savings, we anticipate that Washington will receive an estimated $1.5 million per biennium in federal traffic safety grants due to increased safety belt use,'' Locke said. The University of California, Irvine, published in the journal Pediatrics found: ``Driver restraint use was the strongest predictor of child restraint use. A restrained driver was three times more likely to restrain a child.'' Additionally, a national observational study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that when a driver is buckled, children are buckled 87 percent of the time. However, when a driver is unbuckled, children are restrained only 24 percent of the time.

``Washington is fortunate to have committed leaders to highway safety in Rep. John Lovick and Senator Mary Margaret Haugen,'' Hurley said. ``Countless families will celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and holidays together as a result of their efforts in the Legislature this year.''

Hurley also cited the leadership of the advocacy community who pushed the bill. ``This bill could not have passed without the efforts of many supporters. We were pleased to work closely with former Secretary of Transportation Sid Morrison and John Moffat, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.''