Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Traffic Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House approves seat-belt amendment allowing ticketing of drivers not wearing belts in crashes
Summary
House Bill 61 passed the Utah House to allow drivers involved in accidents to be ticketed for not wearing a seat belt even if they did not cause the crash; sponsor Representative Atkinson framed it as closing an enforcement gap highlighted by a constituent case.
Representative Atkinson moved House Bill 61 onto the floor and described it as a middle-ground change to make seat-belt nonuse ticketable for drivers involved in accidents. He explained the current law treats seat-belt nonuse as a secondary offense (ticketable only if another primary offense has occurred) and said the bill would allow ticketing drivers who are not wearing belts when they are involved in crashes.
Atkinson recounted a constituent case in which a 17-year-old driver who caused a collision was ticketed while the other driver, who was not wearing a belt, was not ticketed because the nonuse was secondary. "This bill attempts to rectify that oversight," he said. The House voted; the clerk announced 53 affirmative votes and 16 negatives and forwarded the bill to the Senate.
Supporters said the change closes an enforcement gap; no floor amendment altered the bill in this session.
