N.C. House Approves Mandate for Seatbelt Use for all Passengers

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All vehicle passengers, even those in the back seat, would have to buckle up in North Carolina under a bill that the House tentatively approved Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C.

Lawmakers approved the mandate, which would levy $75 in fines and court costs for anyone caught without the restraining device, in a 76-40 vote.

“Not only will we save lives, but we will save costs on insurance,” said Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake.

The measure, which passed the Senate last year, survived an amendment that would have maintained state law as it is now, only requiring seat belt use in the front seats.

“My concern is about the rights for people to choose,” said Rep. Ronnie Sutton, D-Robeson, who proposed the amendment. “We adults should be able to think for ourselves.”

Sutton’s amendment failed in a 50-66 vote.

Bill supporters contended that society pays for people who don’t use seat belts with items such as medical bills and insurance premiums.

“When the conduct we’re talking about costs us all, that’s when it is time for the government to be involved,” said Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland. “There is a significant cost issue to everyone in this state.”

Almost 20 other states have passed back-seat belt use laws.
Weiss noted that 70 percent of back-seat passengers who died in North Carolina accidents were not wearing a seat belt. She said the use of seat belts in the back seat was just 36 percent, compared with 86 percent in the front.

The new requirement was also a major recommendation of North Carolina’s Child Fatality Task Force.

In recent years, other recommendations by the Child Fatality Task Force have led to required bicycle helmets for children and age restrictions for all-terrain vehicles. The task force usually makes suggestions based on trends in child fatalities.

But Rep. Stephen Laroque noted that children aren’t even required to wear seat belts on the school bus, and the latest bill wouldn’t change that, either.

“But we’re telling adults that they have to wear a seat belt in their own car?” asked Laroque, R-Lenoir.

Others, meanwhile, questioned the value of the law, especially when law enforcement officers are stretched thin covering other issues.

“Until they start enforcing the front seat, then you can forget the back seat,” said Rep. Ed Jones, D-Halifax.