Panel considers a stiffer seat belt ordinance

Jefferson City officials to focus on education in seat belt safety

Jefferson City officials will look at increasing education of seat belt safety starting in elementary schools as a way to promote more compliance within the area.

At the Public Safety Committee meeting Thursday, a proposed ordinance was presented that would have made not wearing a seat belt a primary offense. Currently, though not wearing a seat belt is against the law, state law specifies it as a secondary offense, meaning a person cannot be pulled over in Missouri simply for not wearing the seat belt. The draft ordinance presented Thursday sought to make it possible for police to pull over a driver for not wearing a seat belt.

Mayor Carrie Tergin said she requested the issue to start a discussion about why people are not wearing seat belts to begin with and raise awareness of the issue.

"This is a conversation that needs to be had," Tergin said. "We have to do something."

Sgt. Doug Ruediger said simply wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of fatality or serious injury by 45 percent. Statewide, 69 percent of teens are not using their seat belts.

In Missouri, 41 cities and counties have primary seat belt laws, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

Capt. Doug Shoemaker said while the department is supportive of seat belt use, there needs to be a strong educational component as well as an assessment of the community's take on the issue before any new ordinance is passed.

Rod Chapel, president of the local NAACP, said while he understands and agrees with the spirit of why the ordinance was proposed (to save lives, as he said), the ordinance as proposed has a lot of issues. Chapel said the ordinance would create needless encounters between police and residents, and it could cause further tensions between minorities and police.

"Right now, in Missouri, there's a huge issue with racial profiling," Chapel said. "If you want to ensure that an already tense situation has a potential to get worse, if you want to pour a little gasoline on the fire, this ordinance would be the exact thing that you would do."

Chapel said instead of passing a new ordinance, the city should focus more on educating children, who then form the habit of buckling before driving or reminding parents to do the same.

Several council members agreed. Fifth Ward Councilman Larry Henry said while the intentions are good, the perceptions would be something else entirely.

"I would not want to see any unrest," Henry said. "I don't want to put our police department in a bad spot."

Fourth Ward Councilman Carlos Graham said the bottom line is saving lives and the way to do that is to push for stronger education starting in elementary schools.

But for 1st Ward Councilman Jim Branch and 3rd Ward Councilman Bob Scrivner, the issue is more about "personal liberty." Branch said it's the same reason he had been against the ordinance banning smoking from businesses, noting at a certain point it's a person's choice if it doesn't affect other people.

Ultimately, the committee took no action on the proposed ordinance and directed police to report back about an increased educational effort on the issue.