New primary seatbelt law begins today in Texas
Along with other laws, Texas puts into law today one of the toughest primary seatbelt laws in the nation today. Under the law all passengers; front seat and back must be buckled up or the driver faces stiff penalties.
The law also requires that any child under age 8 be restrained in an approved child passenger safety seat, unless the child is at least 4 feet 9 inches tall. Additionally, the law now allows fines collected for these violations to be used by TxDot to purchase safety seats for families that cannot afford them.
The law also requires that any child under age 8 be restrained in an approved child passenger safety seat, unless the child is at least 4 feet 9 inches tall. Additionally, the law now allows fines collected for these violations to be used by TxDot to purchase safety seats for families that cannot afford them.
Statewide in 2008, 183 back-seat passengers who were not wearing seat belts died in car wrecks, and 4,046 were injured, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. This points to how short sighted some states are in enacting their own primary seatbelt laws. Here in Florida it’s front seat passengers only, yet we hear about deaths from being ejected from vehicles all the time. It is usually true that compromises have to be made to get bills passed, but compromise=needless death, something lawmakers don’t seem to get. We applaud Texas for the courage in making the law for all passengers.
Anyone who wants an up-to-date list of state seatbelt laws can use the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s interactive map and comprehensive list here
