Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor

One of the bills up for voting in the Utah Legislature this session is the Prmiary Seat Belt Law. The Utah Senate has already voted in favor of it.

Currently the seat belt law is a “secondary” law – that is, you cannot be pulled over for not wearing your seat belt. If you are pulled over for some other offense, you can then be cited for not wearing your seat belt. If it becomes a primary law, you can be pulled over for not wearing a seat belt.

This type of bill really bothers me and I am opposed to such legislation. I view it as an insult to citizens’ intelligence as to what safety measures to take for themselves. I know full well that wearing a seat belt increases my chances of surviving a crash or minimizing injuries in a crash. So does nearly everyone else. I feel it is entirely inappropriate for our representatives to be discussion a bill that dictates to citizens what they must do to protect their own bodies.

If I am not wearing a seat belt, it hurts no one but me. It has no impact on the driver or passengers in the cars around me. I resent being told I am breaking a law that was implemented “for my own good”.

The billed passed out of committee with a 4-2 vote. Sens. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, and Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, dissented.
“The question is what’s the best way to motivate citizens — I don’t think (the bill) is the best way,” said Bramble, whose daughter’s life was saved by wearing a seat belt when she was in a serious accident in Hawaii.
“Utah’s seat-belt use is well above the national average; it’s well above states that already have primary laws.
“I think educational campaigns are a more effective way (to promote seat-belt use),” Bramble said.

I concur with Bramble. It’s all about education, not dictatorship.

For the record: I am not opposed to wearing seatbelts. I am opposed to the government dictating to me that I must wear one or I will be cited for a misdemeanor. This is a waste of our legislators time (to even consider such legislation). IF passed and police officers begin pulling over citizens for not wearing seat belts, they will be spending time ticketing these offenders rather than being available for more serious crimes and incidents. Further, I don’t accept the excuse that not wearing a seatbelt increases the budget for emergency health care expenses for people who cannot afford to pay them.

Bull. This is a bad piece of legislation.