By Shawn Hogendorf, Correspondent 

Buckle up or run the risk of getting a ticket: That’s the message local law authorities are sending out regarding the new seat belt law that takes effect Tuesday, June 9.

The recently signed Katherine Swanson Seat Belt Safety Act – which carries a $25 fine – will allow law enforcement to stop and cite a motorist solely for a seat belt violation. The new law also requires that everyone in the vehicle wear a seat belt or be in a legal child restraint.

Previously, the law required police to witness and stop the driver for another driving violation before they could issue a seat belt citation.

“We want people to comply,” said Lt. Randy Hofstad of the Prior Lake Police Department. “It’s no different than any other law.”

There has been a seat belt law in Minnesota for a number of years, but violations haven’t been considered a “primary” offense, said Capt. Dave Muelken of the Savage Police Department. That law brought some compliance, but law enforcement still sees tragedies and serious injuries that could be prevented, he said.

Each year in Minnesota, about 200 unbelted motorists are killed and another 400 unbelted motorists suffer life-altering injuries, according to statistics from the Department of Public Safety.

In Scott County, seven unbelted motorists were killed and another 29 unbelted motorists suffered serious injuries following crashes from 2006 to 2008, according to the Department of Public Safety.

While it has been reported that 87 percent of Minnesota motorists wear seat belts, those that don’t (about 700,000 motorists) account for half the motorist traffic deaths every year.

“The Department of Public Safety worked hard to make this a primary law with the intent of gaining compliance,” Muelken said. “It’s not a tool disguised for law enforcement to stop more vehicles.”

Both Hofstad and Muelken said this law will be enforced.

“I do believe there will be an increase in the amount of citations written for seat belts,” Muelken said. “Our agency has always aggressively enforced traffic laws, especially in and near residential areas, and we will continue to do so.”

There are numerous state statutes that allow officers to stop a vehicle, Muelken said. All of those laws are to protect people and reduce crashes, and so is this one, he said.

“An officer always has the discretion whether to conduct a traffic stop or cite a person for an offense,” Muelken said. “Just like any other law, the officer has to be in position to make the observation and will only make a stop if it is reasonable and safe.”

In addition to the primary seat belt law, a booster seat law also will go into effect July 1.

The booster seat law states that a child who is both under age 8 and shorter than 4-feet, 9-inches tall is required to be fastened in a child safety seat that meets federal safety standards. The Department of Public Safety recommends that people keep a child in a booster seat based on height, rather than age.

A DWI tool

The new seat belt law is principally a life-saving measure, according to Col. Mark Dunaski, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol. It also will serve as another tool to help in the fight against impaired driving, he said.

Each year, 80 percent of impaired drivers killed in crashes are also not wearing a seat belt, Dunaski said. The primary law could factor in law enforcement stopping suspected impaired drivers before they harm themselves or innocent motorists.

“I suspect the State Patrol will see an increase in DWI arrests,” Muelken said. “I suspect that local police departments will too, depending on the officers’ assignments.”

The mission of the State Patrol is to enforce traffic laws to make roads safe, Muelken said. Police departments have traffic units that may see an increase in DWI arrests, but police are too busy responding to emergency calls and domestic situations and taking theft reports to make traffic stops a priority for all the officers, he said.

“This is another reason to stop people,” Hofstad said. “More stops will lead to more DWI arrests for some officers.”

Economics

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) will receive $3.4 million in federal funding that would have been lost had the law not been passed by June, said Susan Lasley, assistant director of communication for the DPS.

That federal funding is a one-time allotment, but MnDOT and the DPS aren’t sure when the funding will be received or what it will be used for, Lasley said.

The lives saved and injuries prevented as the result of the primary seat belt law will reduce state heath care costs, according to the DPS.

The agency’s statistics show unbelted motorists injured in crashes have hospital charges 60 percent greater than those belted. During 2004 and 2005, all government payer sources, including Medicaid, were charged $83 million for unbelted motorists’ hospital charges. Unbelted motorist injury charges were 78 percent greater for Medicaid than belted motorists.Perfect timing?The start date of June 9 is important as the state enters the heart of the summer driving months, said Cheri Marti, DPS director of the Office of Traffic Safety. This is the start of the deadliest time on the roads. In last three years, there were 476 traffic deaths and 1,798 serious injuries from June to August.Motorists ages 15-29 account for nearly half of all unbelted traffic deaths, and more than half of all unbelted serious injuries every year, according to the DPS.

The timing also is relevant due to increased travel to greater Minnesota during summer months, where nearly 80 percent of unbelted traffic deaths occur.

“There is no better defense than a seat belt against impaired, aggressive and distracted drivers, which become serious threats during the high-traffic summer driving season,” Marti said. “Without a belt, a motorist is almost guaranteed injury in the event of a crash, ranging from a head hitting the windshield to being ejected.”

Hofstad discussed a two-vehicle crash that occurred near 140th Street and Ferndale Avenue in Prior Lake this week. There were four people involved, he said. Two people were wearing seat belts and received minor injuries but did not need to be transported to the hospital. Two other people involved in the crash were not wearing seat belts and were transported with serious injuries.

“I’ve seen accidents where injuries could have been reduced and accidents that resulted in death that didn’t have to if seat belts were worn,” Muelken said. “I’ve been to people’s homes and had to deliver the news that a loved one was seriously hurt or killed in a traffic accident.

“I’ve also witnessed a number of rollover accidents where the driver or the occupant wasn’t seat belted and was ejected from the vehicle. And in almost every case, the vehicle ends up following in the direction of the person who was ejected, and crushing them.”

 Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at (952) 345-6374 or shogendorf@swpub.com.