Resolution No. 01-05 v •
Resolution No. 01-05
Safety Belt as Primary Violation
Whereas, in a recent survey, 61 percent of respondents favored primary
enforcement of seat belt laws (up from 52 percent just four months earlier). (NHTSA,
1999) 68 percent of African American respondents favored primary enforcement of seat
belt laws. (NHTSA, 1999), and;
Whereas, as of July 1998, 14 states and the District of Columbia had primary laws
in effect, and;
Whereas, in 1997, states with primary belt laws averaged 17 percentage points
higher belt use than those with secondary laws (78 versus 63 percent), and;
Whereas, from 1982 through 1998, safety belts saved an estimated 107,234 lives
of passenger vehicle occupants over the age of four(11,088 in 1998), (NHTSA, 1999),
and;
• Whereas, numerous research studies indicate that use of lap and shoulder safety
belts in passenger cars reduce the risk of fatal or serious injury by a factor of 40 to 55
percent (NHTSA, 1996), and;
Whereas, the national use rate only reached 15% before the first belt law was
passed in 1984. The latest estimate with belt laws in place is 69%, (NHTSA, 1999), and
Whereas, in 1997, 70 percent of youth(age 15-20)who died in passenger vehicle
crashes were not wearing safety belts, (NHTSA, 1999), and;
Whereas, the State of Florida does not have safety belt requirement that is
enforceable as a primary violation.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Commission of the City
of Atlantic Beach encourages the enactment of state legislation requiring the use of
safety belts, and providing law enforcement officers with the authority to enforce the
offenses as primary violations.
ADOPTED by the Atlantic Beach City Commission tiffs 12th clay of March, 2001.
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JOHN:S. MESERVE
MAYOR
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