Lawmakers passed a bill that increases the fine for not wearing a seatbelt. The measure changes the penalty from $25 to $50.
Proponents of House bill 1138 say increasing the fine creates awareness of seatbelt use and saves lives. Lee Axdahl is the Director of the Office of Highway Safety. He says just under 69% of South Dakotans wear their seatbelts, and he’d like to see that number increase. Bill Nevin, legal counsel for the South Dakota Department of Transportation, also spoke in favor of the bill.
“The data is overwhelming, unmistakable, and undeniable,” Nevin says. “Wearing seatbelts saves lives and reduces the severity of injuries in automobile crashes. Anything we can do to encourage seatbelt use enhances public safety on the highways. This bill isn’t automatically going to cause every occupant of a motor vehicle who’s required to wear a seatbelt to buckle up. But with the public awareness and education that undoubtedly will result from passage of such a bill, more people will in fact buckle up.”
But opponents, like Representative Brian Gosch say the current fine is sufficient.
“I think the citizens of South Dakota get fined enough for the violations that they get pulled over for, whether it be for speeding, or failure to stop or whatever it might be,” Gosch says. “And adding another $25 on top of that is sufficient penalty in my opinion to deter them from not wearing their seatbelt.”
Members of the House State Affairs Committee voted eight to five to pass House Bill 1138.