South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog
Floridians are making it a priority to buckle up more than ever. Since the implementation of Florida’s new primary seat belt law which took effect on June 30th of this year, a survey has shown that seat belt usage is at an all-time high of 85 percent in Florida.
What’s remarkable about this increase is it marks the first time Florida’s rate has excceded the national average of 84 percent.
The the new law set in place allows for police officers to pull drivers over soley for not wearing a safety belt.
The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) estimates the primary seat belt law will assist in saving approximately 125 lives per year and will prevent more than 1,700 serious injuries from occuring.
Interestingly, surveys also show that drivers in South Florida use seat belts more often than drivers in other parts of the state.
Although the rate of women buckling up is greater than men (89 percent of women use seat belts, the rate for men is 84 percent,) the fact that overall seat belt usage is on the upswing is a significant improvement in Florida’s safety belt statistics.
The cost for a seat belt violation is $30.00 for adults and $60.00 for a child.
The bottom line is, if you crash your car or truck, you are more likely to survive if you are wearing a seat belt.