Seat belt laws should be enforceable

Editorials

May 19, 2012

Seat belt laws should be enforceable

By The Times Picayune, New Orleans, La. Associated Press Sat May 19, 2012, 10:50 AM CDT

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The Legislature is close to fixing ambiguity in Louisiana’s seat belt laws that has prompted some judges to throw out tickets issued to SUV drivers or occupants.

Lawmakers are close to fixing Louisiana seatbelt laws so tickets to SUV drivers are held up in court. Lawmakers surely didn’t intend to leave sports utility vehicles out when they toughened seat belt requirements in recent years. But the law currently doesn’t specifically mention SUVs, and some judges have dismissed SUV tickets because of that omission.

With passage of House Bill 197 by the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works, the gap in the seat belt law could soon be closed. The bill now needs only full Senate approval to be sent to the governor’s desk.

The Senate should pass the measure, which was authored by Rep. Henry Burns. As he noted, HB 197 is a “cleanup” measure. It will simply add SUVs to the law requiring drivers and passengers to buckle up and allow police officers to more confidently ticket SUV drivers and passengers for not wearing seat belts.

Existing law specifically mentions cars, vans and pickup trucks, and SUVs ought to fall under one of those categories. But Rep. Burns said that some judges haven’t seen it that way.

He said that he sponsored the legislation on behalf of a retired state trooper in his district who was upset about tickets for SUVS being dismissed. The former trooper was right to be concerned.

Seat belts are vital to safety. Buckling up greatly increases people’s chances of surviving death or serious injury in an accident. A driver or passenger in an SUV isn’t less at risk of being killed or injured than someone in another type of vehicle.

The Legislature wisely made seat-belt use a priority in recent years. But tougher laws can only work if they are enforceable, and this change is necessary to ensure that for seat belts.

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