This bill will save lives!”
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said just before he put pen to paper Thursday to officially sign Senate bill 2018, or the seat belt bill, into law.
Starting July 9, if you’re not wearing your seat belt in a moving vehicle in the state of West Virginia, you can be pulled over by law enforcement and fined. That goes for passengers as well as drivers.
Up until now, wearing your seat belt has been a secondary offense. Police could only fine you for not buckling up if you were pulled over for another offense. This bill changes that.
Kanawha County Senator Corey Palumbo introduced the bill six years ago. But it went nowhere. He says many people felt like the legislation infringed on their rights.
“I think there’s just some general resistance to things that people consider to be over reaching of their government,” Palumbo said Thursday.
The senator says he understand that but, in this case, feels the benefit of wearing a seat belt outweighs the negatives.
“The trade off that you have to make, you have to balance considerations. I think the safety aspect of it outweighs the intrusion of it.”
Palumbo says he is very happy that his fellow lawmakers were finally able to come to an agreement and pass a bill that is estimated to save 17 lives each year and reduce injuries by the hundreds.
“It is something that’s been done in the vast majority of the states. It is something, that when it has been done, has reduced roadway fatalities and reduced significant injuries,” he said.
The signing comes just one day before the start of the Memorial Day weekend and during the annual Click It or Ticket campaign.