Posted on 01/28/2006 6:27:57 AM PST by WKB
Carol Johns of Pascagoula says she doesn't need a state law to make her wear a seat belt. But, she acknowledges a law might have helped persuade her to buckle up years ago when she was a teenager learning to drive.
"Whether we realize it or not, young people have a lot of respect for what the law says,'' said Johns, who's 55 and says she has only been wearing a seat belt regularly for three years.
Mississippi could be on the verge of strengthening its seat belt law from a secondary offense to a primary one, meaning a law enforcement officer could pull over a vehicle simply if he thinks the driver or a front-seat passenger is not wearing a seat belt.
The Senate on Friday passed the final version of a primary-offense seat belt bill with a maximum fine of $25 per vehicle.
Under current state law, an officer can issue a ticket for failure to wear a seat belt - but the officer must have another reason, such as speeding or a missing tail light, to pull over the vehicle.
If Gov. Haley Barbour signs the bill, it would become law on May 27, the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend.
Barbour spokesman Pete Smith said "the governor generally supports the issue'' but wants to study the bill before saying whether he'll sign it.
Primary-offense seat belt bills have been proposed for years in Mississippi and have failed amid arguments about individual rights. This year, apparently, it was crunch time: Many lawmakers say they voted for the bill because Mississippi could get about $8 million in federal highway safety money if the state has a primary-offense seat belt law.
"I voted for it, but I think it's too much government,'' said Sen. Terry Brown, R-Columbus. "I hate to give up that federal highway money.''
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, D-Brookhaven, has voted for primary-offense bills for years.
"My husband says I don't even go to the mailbox without seat belts,'' said Hyde-Smith, a cattle farmer whose mailbox is a quarter mile from her home.
The bill passed the Senate with only four opposing votes. It cleared the House on Jan. 12, with some members arguing that a primary-offense law could be abused by law officers with a grudge.
Mississippi NAACP president Derrick Johnson said he still has those concerns.
"Our fear in making seat belts a primary offense is that it will give some bad apples an opportunity to further harass African-American drivers,'' Johnson said Friday.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta released a study in December showing that Mississippi in 2005 had the lowest seat belt usage rate of any state, at 60.8 percent. Hawaii had the highest rate, at 95.3 percent. The study was conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A federal law enacted last August made $498 million available to states over the next four years. To qualify for part of the money, a state has to either enact a primary-offense seat belt law or have at least an 85 percent seat belt usage rate, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The bill is House Bill 409.
Many lawmakers say they voted for the bill because Mississippi could get about $8 million in federal highway safety money if the state has a primary-offense seat belt law.
Most revealing statement............
Way too much centralized power in the fed govt.
Yes this by an R
"I voted for it, but I think it's too much government,'' said Sen. Terry Brown, R-Columbus. "I hate to give up that federal highway money.''
[mattdono shakes head] [mattdono thinks, "Man, my neck is hurting from shaking my head so much lately]
I agree.
Is your tagline for me? :>)
Our fear in making seat belts a primary offense is that it will give some bad apples an opportunity to further harass African-American drivers,'' Johnson said Friday.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Further harass 'this'.
BTW, I guess seat belts will remind blacks of the chains of slavery.
BTW, I guess seat belts will remind blacks of the chains of slavery.
I never thought of that.
Mandatory seat belt laws will be a massive source of revenue for States and will give the cops yet another reason to pull people over and harrass them. The insurance companies will also make $$$$ on these laws because they will raise the rates of people who get bagged for breaking this absolutely dictatorial law. Just follow the money, as they say.
One day your car won't start if smells cigar smoke or it detects burgers and french fries in your intestines instead of tofu and alfalfa sprouts.
And if you go 10 mph over the speed limit, the car will automatically spit out a $100 speeding ticket from the ashtray. Go 11 mph over the limit and car will take over and drive you to municipal court for immediate punishment.
Then vehicles will be renamed automobills.
The march continues ping~
Maybe it was just an oversight and will be in his next diatribe against whitey and their further attempts to 'hold the black man down' by this obviously racist law.
:-)
No one is forcing MS to take the Fed money.
For real, you mean to tell me blacks can't snap a seat belt on like the rest of us in order to not get pulled.
No one is forcing MS to take the Fed money.
A lady named Katrina didn't help money
matters any in Mississippi.
Pass a law and it's racist. Don't pass a law and then you don't care and want them dead. To them everything is some evil plot.
It's now beyond boring and isn't even laughable anymore, but simply pathetic.
No one is forcing MS to take the Fed money.
Money is power. That is why I am in favor of EVERY federal tax cut. Sure we will get taxed more on the state level but that is a little closer to me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.