MoDOT needs credibility, not politics

To the editor:

A Sept. 18 article, "Officials hope to boost seat belt usage in Missouri," incorrectly stated that Missouri has a primary seat belt law which would allow law enforcement officers to stop motorists based solely on a seat belt violation.

Safety advocates have tried several times to pass a primary law in Missouri but without success. As a result, officers continue to be limited to enforcing a much weaker secondary law, where a seat belt citation can be issued only if another traffic violation is first observed.

This secondary law could easily explain Missouri's poor seat belt usage rate of 67.9 percent compared to 75 percent for the rest of the nation. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, average seat belt use is 14 percent higher in states that have primary enforcement laws. Many hundreds of lives are saved as a result of those laws.

While enforcement programs, such as the Missouri Division of Highway Safety's new "Click It, Don't Risk It" campaign, are certainly important in the formula to increase belt use, a primary law is unquestionably the missing ingredient in Missouri's battle to save lives, especially young lives.

CHUCK HURLEY

Executive Director

Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign

National Safety Council

Itasca, Ill.

Editor's note: Missouri has a primary law regarding seat belts only for motorists and front-seat passengers 16 years old and under.