I was just reading through my nephew’s report that he did for school this year about comparing all the state laws on seat belts.  Tulsa, Oklahoma, law for safety belts states that the drivers and their front seat passengers must be contained by an appropriate safety system or seat belt when riding in a vehicle.  They can be pulled over if law enforcement spots someone inside the vehicle violating this law.  The fine is $20.  It probably would work a little better if the fine was steeper.  The driver is also responsible for passengers under the age of 16 violating this rule.

Kids under 6 years of age must be restrained in a federally-approved safety seat when riding in a vehicle.  Children between the ages of 6 and 12 must be restrained by an appropriate safety system or seat belt.  In general, they say that children are safer riding in the rear seat of a vehicle.  It’s interesting to know that teens are the largest percentage of drivers involved in automobile accidents in Oklahoma.

He also wrote about comparing the secondary enforcement law to the primary enforcement law, which I found very interesting.  I honestly didn’t think any states had a secondary law anymore where they had to be pulling someone over for something other than not wearing a seat belt but could then ticket them if they weren’t wearing one.  That really doesn’t even make any sense to me.  It’s either the law or not the law and if it is the law a person should be pulled over for it just like speeding or running a red light.

I can’t really say that I have paid much attention to anything having to do with seat belt laws and is the reason I was reading his report to educate myself more.  I guess I have always worn my seat belt, law or now law, and anyone riding in my vehicle does the same thing or they don’t ride in my vehicle.  It sounds a little harsh maybe but I do not want to be responsible for someone getting hurt for not having their seat belt on.  If for some 1 in a million chance they get hurt because they have the seat belt on, I guess that’s the chance I will take.

See a lot of information about our local area in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at www.directoryoftulsa.com.