Colorado legislators have an opportunity to save lives – 51, if you’re counting. Fifty-one is the number of Coloradans the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration projects will be saved by seat belts a year if Colorado enacts standard enforcement seat-belt legislation.
Currently, failure to wear a safety belt is a secondary offense, meaning drivers can only receive a citation for not buckling up if they are pulled over for another offense. Standard enforcement means drivers could be pulled over and ticketed simply for not wearing their seat belt. In short, it gives Colorado’s current safety-belt law the same force as any other Colorado traffic law.
How would this save lives? Studies in the 23 states with standard enforcement laws show that this simple change to the law results in an 11 percent to 14 percent increase in safety-belt usage. This increase, if applied to Colorado, equates to saving 51 lives.
Rep. Fran Coleman and Sen. Peter Groff have introduced a bill that would make this change. (House Bill 1125 passed the House Wednesday.) Opponents cite three reasons for not supporting the bill: the potential for increased racial profiling; infringement on personal freedom; and difficulty of enforcement. On their face, these appear to be solid arguments. Yet, when examined closely, they don’t stand up on their merits, especially when weighed against 51 lives.
Racial profiling is an issue that is neither resolved nor exacerbated by the failure or success of this legislation. For the rare bad apple who wants to use race as a basis for traffic stops, countless laws exist that would enable such an individual to harass people because of their race. Changing the seat-belt law won’t make profiling less or more likely.
Empirical data in the 23 states with standard enforcement laws yields no evidence suggesting increases in racial profiling. And, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators has examined the issues of standard seat-belt enforcement and racial profiling and has passed a resolution calling for the enactment of standard enforcement legislation because of the lives that it saves.
Another argument frequently heard is that the law infringes upon personal freedom. There are two flaws to this argument. First, driving is a privilege, not a right. With the privilege comes a set of laws established for the benefit and protection of everyone on the road. These laws are part of the public contract drivers accept when they get a driver’s license and get behind the wheel.
Second, the decision to wear or not wear a seat belt affects all Coloradans, not just the person making the decision. NHTSA estimates costs associated with injuries and deaths to unrestrained drivers in Colorado at $3.2 billion. These costs are shared by all Coloradans, not just by those killed or injured. Moreover, Colorado employers pay an estimated $359 million per year in leave time, insurance premiums, worker retraining and the like as a result of injuries to unrestrained motorists.
The final argument against this legislation is that it’s hard to enforce and therefore ineffective. While it is true that enforcement isn’t easy, enforcement is not the goal. Voluntary compliance is. The states with standard enforcement laws face the same difficulties in enforcement, and yet statistics in those states show that seat-belt usage increases when the law takes effect.
Going into 2006, 23 states had standard enforcement legislation, and Mississippi and Alaska have passed standard enforcement legislation within the last two weeks. In Colorado, there are 51 very good reasons to enact this law, and not a single good reason not to do so.
Tony DeNovellis is president and CEO of AAA Colorado.
