Arkansas Lawmaker Again Pushing Mandatory Seat Belt Law

The lead sponsor of legislation that would allow officers in Arkansas to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts says he’ll also call on police agencies to collect data on the race of motorists they stop for the violation.

Two years after civil rights advocates opposed his proposal to make seat belt violations a primary offense, Sen. Hank Wilkins IV said he hopes to allay their concerns that the measure would open the door to targeting racial minorities.

An advocate of policies to stop racial profiling, Wilkins in 2007 saw the same groups that once sided with him opposing his seat belt law. His proposal, which would have opened up another $9.5 million in federal funds for the state, was rejected by a House panel after being approved in the Senate.

Wilkins said he plans to file a companion bill this week that would require some police departments to collect data on motorists pulled over for not wearing a seat belt. Wilkins has already filed his primary seat belt law proposal, which he hopes to bring before a Senate committee later this month.

“We will have a methodology where we can collect information to really see if there is racial profiling,” said Wilkins, D-Pine Bluff. “I am convinced that racial profiling in and of itself does not outweigh the need to save lives by encouraging people to wear their seat belts.”

In 2003, Wilkins successfully pushed for legislation requiring law enforcement agencies to establish policies prohibiting officers from relying on race, ethnicity, national origin or religion in deciding whom to pull over. Wilkins, however, found the NAACP and other civil rights advocates opposing the move because they said it could allow for harassment of black and minority drivers.

Dale Charles, the head of the state NAACP, said he still can’t support the primary seat belt law even with the companion bill. Charles said he would rather Wilkins push for the collection of data on motorist stops first then push for the seat belt law.

“I’m still trying to figure out how he has gone from one side to the other that quick,” Charles said. “You fight hard to get a law on the books to address racial profiling. But on the other hand, you sponsor legislation two sessions in a row that makes it easier to profile blacks and Hispanics.”

Wilkins, however, has won over at least one opponent of his past attempts for a stricter seat belt law. Rep. Fred Allen, D-North Little Rock, voted against the measure when it came before a House committee in 2007 but is now listed as a co-sponsor of the bill.

“I think that the good of the bill outweighs what some people think will happen,” Allen said.

Currently there are 26 states that have primary seat belt laws, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Arkansas would be open to nearly $9.5 million in federal money if it enacts a primary seat belt law by June 30, according to the agency.

Arkansas currently has a secondary safety belt law, which means that citations can be written for the violation only if a vehicle is stopped for another reason.

Gov. Mike Beebe’s top health officials have already been pushing for the new safety belt law as a part of the health care initiative he’s been pitching to the lawmakers this session. State Surgeon General Joe Thompson said the concerns over racial profiling, as well as misunderstandings from people who believed it would affect them if they were driving on private property, helped kill the legislation during the 2007 session.

“Right now, we’re sending a mixed message,” Thompson said. “We’re saying it’s OK to not wear your seat belt. It’s a secondary violation.”

Thompson said Beebe’s administration sees the new seat belt restrictions as an essential part of his health plan, which includes raising tobacco taxes to pay for a statewide trauma system and a host of expanded programs.

“It would be penny-wise and foolish to advance a trauma system without addressing a primary seat belt law,” Thompson said.

Wilkins’ companion bill would require some police agencies, including Arkansas State Police, to file reports annually on the primary seat belt stops with a state task force on racial profiling and the attorney general’s office. The bill would not require data to be collected on other traffic stops, Wilkins said.

Col. Winford Phillips, director of Arkansas State Police, said he would be open to considering the data-collection proposal if it would help pass the seat belt law.

“Passing a mandatory seat belt law is important enough to me that I’m willing to consider any amendment if it has the same end result, that is to reduce the number of injuries and deaths on our state highways,” Phillips said.