South Carolina needs to pass a primary seat-belt law, and we hope state lawmakers will get the job done before Congress steps in to require it.
Last week, the U.S. Senate voted 57-41 to table an amendment to the Transportation Spending bill that would have required the 30 states that do not now have primary seat-belt laws to enact one. While South Carolina dodged a bullet this time, senators could change their minds in the future.
Primary seat-belt laws allow police to stop cars merely upon seeing an unbelted driver. Under current law, South Carolina law enforcement officers can stop a vehicle if minors are observed not wearing safety restraints. But to cite adult drivers or passengers for not wearing a seat belt, officers first must have another unrelated reason for stopping the car, such as a speeding violation.
If the Senate had approved the amendment, states that did not comply would have suffered cuts in highway funding. The amendment also would have required all states to reach 90 percent use of seat belts by drivers, a considerable jump from the current estimate of 79 percent use of seat belts nationwide.
We don't like it when Congress uses the threat of withholding highway money to force a state to adopt its mandates. In the past, Congress has threatened to cut highway funds for states that did not adopt federal speed limit standards or refused to lower legal blood-alcohol limits.
But even without a threat from Congress, South Carolina needs to adopt a primary seat belt law. Thankfully, such a bill now is making its way through the state Senate and could be adopted this legislative session.
South Carolina ranks third in the nation in highway traffic fatalities. During recent debate on the seat-belt bill, Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, cited statistics on the state's highway deaths showing that 70 percent of those who died were not wearing seat belts. Hutto said it was estimated that half of those victims would have lived if they had been wearing safety restraints.
As usual, opponents assert that requiring people to wear seat belts abridges their personal liberty. Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, has threatened to talk the bill to death, saying the state already does enough to encourage seat belt use.
He chides "safety squads" for taking away individual choices. To them, he said, "safety is more important than the fundamentals of liberty."
Oh, come on, senator, the state limits choices up and down the highway. Drivers can't simply choose to drive 100 mph, ignore traffic lights or drive the wrong way on a one-way street.
Furthermore, recent studies has shown that unbelted occupants of a car can be dangerous to others in the event of a wreck. Those who aren't wearing seat belts become projectiles who can injure or kill other passengers.
It's high time the state adopted a more sensible seat-belt law that police and state troopers can easily enforce. Lawmakers need to ignore opponents such as McConnell and enact this bill before the state has to contend with threats from Congress.
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State Senate is debating bill that would establish a primary seat-belt law.
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