Harris News Service

TOPEKA -- The House rejected a bill Friday that would have required adults in the front seats of vehicles to buckle up or face being stopped and fined by police.

The chamber's 65-55 vote against the measure keeps the state from gaining at least $11.2 million in aid from the federal government for enacting such a law by June 30.

The Senate approved the legislation Thursday on a 28-11 vote, softening their earlier stance on the issue by allowing not applying the primary seat belt provisions to back-seat passengers.

SThe bill remains subject to legislative negotiations and supporters could revive the measure when lawmakers return in late April for their annual wrap-up session.

Opponents of the proposal said that the extra funding wasn't enough to warrant passing the bill, which some said would infringe on the individual freedom of adults.

"I'm just not willing to prostitute myself to the federal government for 11 million dollars," said Rep. Virgil Peck, R-Tyro.

Rep. Joe Seiwert, R-Pretty Prairie, noted that the state has seen 100,000 car accidents with deer over the past decade.

"We don't seem to worry about the problem with deer but we're worried about seat belts," Seiwert said. "I think sometimes maybe we have our priorities mixed up."

Under existing law, adults sitting in the front seat are required to buckle up. But they can't be stopped and ticketed solely for that violation. To commit a seat-belt violation, they must first be pulled over for another traffic offense.

Proponents of the law believe that a stronger seat belt law would end up saving the adult lives and reducing injury by providing an incentive for increased safety harness usage. Fines under the measure would increase from $30 to $60, including court costs.

They note that the seat belt usage rate in Kansas ispresently sits at about77 percent while states with the stronger primary laws have compliance marks of 87 percent.

But "I think it's time now for Kansas to institute a primary safety seat belt law," said Rep. Jerry Henry, D-Cummings, who made the motion to approve the bill.

Children under age 18 must either be buckled up or placed in age-appropriate restraints under separate state laws dealing with minors.

But Rep. Deena Horst, R-Salina, said that education might be a more effective approach to improving seat-belt usage rates among adults.said that education might be a more effecintive approach to improving seat-belt usage rates among adults.

AJust afew years ago, the state's seat usage rate washovered around70 percent.

"It appeared to me that we've made some pretty good strides in getting people to use their seat belts," Horst said.

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Front-seat primary seat-belt bill is HB 2130: http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-bills/showBill.do?id=314018

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lightninghale says....
Instead of stopping people for no seat belt in the front seat. Perhaps they should have a no insurance check point set up to randomly check all those driving around with no insurance.
4/4/2009

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The Syko One says....
OH this is rich----Opponents of the proposal said that the extra funding wasn't enough to warrant passing the bill, which some said would infringe on the individual freedom of adults.----They don't want to infringe on individual freedoms. This is something that affects a whole lot more lives than a smoking ban, yet we have politicians who will, at the drop of a hat infringe on the rights of shop owners and smokers.
4/4/2009

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