Proposed seat belt bill in Florida

There is a proposed seat belt bill being debated in Tallahassee. Currently Florida law requires that you buckle up, however, you can only be ticketed for that if you're stopped for some other infraction. The only exception to this is for drivers with passengers under the age of 17.

The proposed House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 344 would make failing to buckle up a primary offense. You could be pulled over if it appears you or your passengers are not properly restrained.

The motivator for the House and Senate to adopt the enhanced seat belt law is that Florida stands to be awarded $37 million in federal transportation safety dollars in exchange for doing so. The motivator for the public may be financial, but many lives may be saved.