Florida Senate Votes to Enforce Seat Belt Regulations

Tuesday May 5, 2009

On Tuesday, the Florida Senate voted 33-4 to allow police officers to pull over motorists who fail to fasten their seatbelts. This decision will head to the House in following weeks for a final decision. If the bill passes, Florida will become one of several states that create a requirement for motorists to buckle up. Currently, police officers in the state of Florida are allowed to issue citations for not wearing a seatbelt to drivers and passengers, but are only allowed to pull a vehicle over for a more “serious” offense, such as speeding or violating a traffic regulation.

Under the new legislation, law enforcement officials will be able to pull over drivers simply for spotting them or their passengers without seatbelts. This law has been the pet project of former Representative Irv Slosberg, whose daughter died in a traffic crash, because she was not buckled in properly.

In recent years, the House has overwhelmingly approved the legislation, but the season always ends without a hearing in the Senate. The bill is expected to pass again, as it heads once again to the House. Opponents of the bill say that it will promote racial profiling and invade the personal space of drivers and their passengers.