Tough laws, lives saved

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If there's one fact that tragically underscores the importance of a strong seat-belt law, it's this: In states with tough seat-belt laws, fewer people die on the roads. Likewise, states such as South Carolina with weak seat-belt laws suffer more fatalities on the roads.

It's that simple: A weak law equals more road fatalities.

South Carolina has one of the worst seat-belt usage rates in the nation. Our state is one of only four in the nation with a belt use rate at 65 percent or lower. Is it any surprise that our state also has the nation's third highest rate of fatalities on the road?

And the situation is getting worse. South Carolina saw a dramatic decrease in the number of people wearing seat belts this year — the worst decline in the nation. The 2004 usage rate was 65.7 percent, down from the 72.8 percent use rate in 2003, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Likewise, traffic fatalities in the state have increased this year. As of Dec. 30, 2004, 1,022 people had died in auto accidents this year in South Carolina, compared to 964 at the same time last year. Almost 75 percent of the people who died in these accidents were not wearing seat belts.

The decline in seat-belt use in South Carolina comes at a time when belt use is increasing nationwide — rising in 37 states this year. The national belt use rate was at an all-time high of 80 percent.

The states with tougher seat belt laws have some of the highest belt-use rates. Five states — California, Hawaii, Michigan, Oregon and Washington — with use rates over 90 percent have primary seat-belt laws, which allows police to stop a motorist for not wearing a seat belt. Puerto Rico, which had a use rate of 90.1 percent, also has a primary belt law.

South Carolina, significantly, has only a secondary seat-belt law, which allows police to issue a seat-belt ticket only to a driver stopped for another violation.

Some state lawmakers have supported a primary seat-belt law for South Carolina, but the most recent proposal was killed earlier this year in a pitiful failure of leadership by state senators. By rejecting the bill, senators turned away $11 million in federal highway funds that might have been put to good use repairing crumbling and dangerous South Carolina roads.

Most of the blame goes to Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell who led a misguided filibuster against the primary seat-belt law. Gov. Sanford, meanwhile, never pushed the bill and in fact publicly expressed a "bias" against it, according to his spokesman.

Research has shown, time and again, that seat belts save lives. Likewise, motorists are more likely to die in a crash if they're not wearing seat belts.

The lack of a primary seat-belt law contributes to South Carolina's high fatality rate and endangers our families. Lawmakers should approve a primary seat-belt law this year.