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Let's hope more people buckle up under new law

Too many die on state's roads after not fastening seat belts

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South Carolina's highway fatality rate is much too high, and if a stricter seat-belt law can bring that down, let's go for it.

Yes, it will be tricky to enforce because it can be difficult for police officers to determine whether a driver and young passengers are wearing seat belts before stopping the car.

But if the thought of a fine gets more people to buckle up, good. We ask the officers to give it their best shot, especially for the sake of children who aren't properly restrained.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the change in the law will lead to an 11-percentage point increase in the number of South Carolinians wearing seat belts, which is at about 70 percent now. The projected rise in seat belt use could prevent about 64 fatalities, 650 serious injuries and save about $140 million annually in economic costs, according to the administration.

The new law highlights South Carolina's continuing deplorable fatality rate. As of Dec. 7, 1,019 people had died on South Carolina roads this year, and about 69 percent of those who had access to seat belts weren't wearing them, according to S.C. Highway Patrol officials.

Twenty people have died in car accidents this year in Beaufort County, and there have been 31 deaths in Jasper County, according to Highway Patrol statistics.

From Dec. 2 to Dec. 9, 11 people died in traffic accidents in South Carolina, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Nine were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accidents.

We'd like to think years of buckling up our children into car seats and years of making sure their seat belts were latched would make seat belts a habit. But that lesson doesn't appear to be sticking for many. None of the four people under age 25 who died in car accidents last week was wearing a seat belt.

The state's initial law, on the books since 1989, called for secondary enforcement, meaning officers could charge a motorist with a seat-belt violation only after they had stopped them for another violation, such as speeding. Drivers 17 and younger already could be pulled over solely for not wearing a seat belt under the previous law.

Violating the law still costs motorists $25 per violation, with a maximum fine of $50 per incident.

State Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head Island, said he sees how enforcement can be subjective, and he said the legislature would wait a year or so to see how police officers handle enforcement under the new law.

But, Richardson said, "Any time we can do something to save lives, it's worth the aggravation."

Reviewing the law to see whether it's making a difference is a good move. If they don't see an improvement in the rate of seat-belt use, state lawmakers may want to up the ante to see whether a stiffer fine can get more people's attention.