Utah House approves revised S.B.109, keeping teen license-suspension and tightening enforcement

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House passed a revised version of Senate Bill 109 on March 2, 2005, approving a tougher seat-belt enforcement measure that includes a 30-day driver’s-license suspension for drivers under 18 and retains criminal penalties the sponsor said should be classified as a class C misdemeanor.

Representative Cheryl Allen, the bill’s sponsor, told colleagues the bill “deletes the language that makes those that do not wear safety belts…a secondary offense” and urged members to adopt primary enforcement. Allen cited safety research and federal encouragement for primary laws, saying an unbelted occupant is “23 times more likely to die in a crash” and noting higher hospital costs for unbelted crash victims (cited in debate as roughly $27,000 versus $12,600 for belted patients).

“The National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. transportation secretary have urged states to enact primary safety seat-belt laws because they have been proven effective,” Allen said, arguing that…