Primary Safety Belt - Ejected

The proposed primary seat belt law which would have saved 90 lives a year in Missouri and reduced many serious injuries was left for dead in the final days of the Missouri legislative session.

Throughout the session, supporters rallied, visited, called, testified, changed tactics, brought in experts and pulled out all the stops and the Senate passed it – but in the end the issue didn’t even get to be voted on in the House of Representatives.

“We had a tremendous outpouring of support for this legislation statewide, and all indications are there were enough votes in the House to pass the bill, but it never came to a vote.  That’s what is really discouraging,” Pete Rahn said.

In the last few weeks before May 18 (the last day of the session) there was renewed hope that adding the proposal to an omnibus transportation bill could get the new law to the Governor’s desk, but it didn’t make it.

Numerous unrelated amendments were added to House Bill 90 when it was brought up for floor debate in April. When a few opponents bogged down debate with the amendments, the bill was set aside.

“We’re disappointed but not defeated,” said Dale Findlay, executive director of the Missouri Safety Council. “Those 90 lives a year are too important to give up now, we’ll see you next year.” 

Fortunately, the repeal of Missouri’s All Rider Motorcycle Helmet Law was unsuccessful.

“At least, that represents some accomplishment,” said Findlay, “keeping that law in place will make a difference in the number of people who die on our highways.”

House Bill 90 would have changed Missouri’s safety belt law to allow law enforcement officers to stop motorists solely because they are not wearing their safety belts. The current law only lets officers ticket motorists for not wearing a seat belt if they are first pulled over for another offense. Of the more than 500 traffic laws in Missouri’s statutes, the current safety belt law is the only one restricted to secondary enforcement.

“All we wanted was for law enforcement to be able to do their jobs and enforce the safety belt law already on the books,” Rahn said. “Now we can only hope that the publicity this legislation received during the session reinforced the importance of wearing safety belts and saving lives.”