In just a two week span, between July 25th and August 7th, Idaho State Police wrote 302 citations to people not wearing seat belts while driving. Police spent the two week period focusing on seat belt education and enforcement. The latest data shows that Idahoans are among the least likely to wear seat belts, with the national average at 90.7 percent of motorist buckling up and only 85 percent of Idaho drivers wearing the safety restraint. Nearly two thirds of people killed in car accidents were not properly wearing their seat belt. 

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In a press release, motorists were reminded that a seat belt is the quickest and easiest way to save a life. You can go through recent accident stories from Idaho and see the relation between survival and seat belt usage.

Failure to use a seat belt while driving is a secondary violation in Idaho. This means police won't pull you over for simply not wearing a seat belt, it must be in connection to another violation. The 302 people cited were already in violation of a law when they were pulled over by police and there is no way to count the actual number of people not buckling up when driving.

With this recent focus on proper seat belt use and the new hands-free law in Idaho, there is a renewed push for drivers to be safe  and more focused when driving. The Idaho hands-free law went in to effect on July 1st and police will be giving warnings to drivers for the rest of the year. Starting 2021 they will be giving citations to drivers who violate the law. That comes with a $75 fine for the first offense and $300 for a second offense within three years.

Remember, drive means drive, so put on your seat belt and focus when driving.

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