Driving without a seat belt is worth the risk.
That is, if you're looking at it from simply a legal standpoint.
The odds are slim that you'll be pulled over in the first place. In Missouri, the requirement for motorists to wear safety belts is a secondary, not primary, law. That means that you can't be pulled over for not wearing a seat belt, but you can be ticketed for not being buckled up after being pulled over for a different reason.
Even if you are pulled over, you might not get ticketed. And if you do get ticketed, you might be able to successfully fight it in court. Don't want to go through he hassle? Just pay a small fine. No big deal.
It's when you get in a wreck that it becomes a big deal.
Area law enforcement agencies, including the Jefferson City Police Department, recently took part in the latest statewide Click It or Ticket campaign. In our area, they cited 37 drivers for various violations, including five for not wearing a seat belt.
But the biggest part of the campaign isn't about those numbers, which we reported in Wednesday's MidMissouri section. It also serves as a public service campaign to educate about the importance of wearing seat belts.
While the Click It or Ticket campaign is over, the need to remind people of the importance of buckling up is a continuous process.
Statistics prove beyond a doubt that seat belts save lives. As journalists who sometimes must cover vehicle wrecks, we've also seen plenty of anecdotal evidence. Many times, we've seen motorists who buckled up leaving wreck scenes with scrapes and bruises, while unbuckled motorists leave in an ambulance or helicopter, if they're lucky.
So buckle up for yourself and your loved ones - not primarily because it's the law - but because you know it's the smart thing to do.