Everyone should buckle up.  Even back-seat passengers!

That’s what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed in his 2018-19 state budget plan. He wants everyone riding in a vehicle in NY to wear seat belts, and I applaud his proposal because I have seen what can happen when a back-seat passenger isn’t safely restrained by a seat belt.

A few years ago, I handled the very tragic case of a 15-year old-girl who was riding as an unbelted back-seat passenger when she was killed in an accident.

Compounding the tragedy is the fact that I am certain that she would have survived had she been wearing a seat belt.

My advice to everyone: If you are riding in ANY vehicle (car, boat, plane, ATV) in ANY seat (front, rear, middle) where there is a seat belt available, USE IT! Most fatalities are caused by an unrestrained person either violently impacting with the interior of the vehicle or being thrown from the vehicle and crushed.

The state currently only requires the drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts, and anyone under 16 years old is also required to buckle up.

The budget also proposed outlawing hands-free phone use by junior permit and junior license holders and requiring children younger than 8 years old to be properly secured in necessary car seats when riding in a school car or van.

We were the first state, in 1985, to make seat belt use mandatory for drivers and front-seat passengers. The state says about 21 percent of highway deaths in New York State happen to people who were not wearing their seat belts, and not wearing a seat belt was found to be a greater factor in vehicle-accident deaths than alcohol or excessive speed, according to the state.

Under current law, drivers in NY can be ticketed and fined $50 for not wearing their seat belts and fined $100 if someone younger than 16 is not buckled in safely.

But this issue isn’t about fines or tickets. This is about keeping everyone safe in your vehicle, not just people in the front seat and children in the back.

Soon, everyone will have to wear seat belts when they are in a moving vehicle. Get a jump on the law and make sure everyone in any vehicle you are in is wearing their seat belts.

They save lives. It’s that simple.

Thanks for reading!

Jim

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