By Kelsie Jennings
KU Statehouse Wire Service
TOPEKA – A Kansas Senate bill would substantially increase the fine for seat belt violations and the money collected from the fines would go toward promoting seat belt safety in Kansas schools.
Senate Bill 82 would increase seat belt fines from $10 to $60, and fines collected would go into the Seat Belt Safety Fund, which is a fund that would be established with the signing of the bill. The fund would pay for educational programs.
In the bill’s fiscal note, the Office of Judicial Administration estimates that the bill would create an additional $1.2 million of revenue for 2016. Of that, $981,149 would go into the Seat Belt Safety Fund.
Proponents of the bill testified on Tuesday before the Senate Transportation Committee, saying this bill is needed to continue funding for seat belt safety programs such as SAFE (Seatbelts Are For Everyone), which they credit for lowering the number of teenage vehicle fatalities.
James Hanni, AAA Allied Group executive vice president of public affairs, testified in support of the bill saying that seat belt use among teenagers in Crawford County has gone up from 38 percent to 86 percent since the SAFE program was implemented in 2008.
“There’s no question this program is making a difference,” Hanni said.
Hanni said they are seeking permanent funding for programs such as SAFE, and that the fines from this bill would provide that.
“Seat belt fines directed to a safety fund, paid for only by people who voluntarily choose to violate the law, provides the perfect source,” Hanni said.
In its written testimony, the Kansas Department of Transportation said that 55 percent of the traffic fatalities in 2013 involved unbuckled victims. It also said that 146 lives could have been saved by a seat belt.
Norraine Wingfield, program director with the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office, testified that teenage fatalities continue to decline because of the SAFE program.
“As SAFE has grown, the trend of unbelted fatalities in Kansas has continued to decrease. Not one fatality came from a SAFE county last year,” Wingfield said.
Wingfield said this year there are 59 Kansas counties participating in the SAFE program, compared to just one county in 2008.
She provided charts that showed unbelted fatalities for 14-to-19 year olds has declined from 33 deaths in 2008 to 17 deaths in 2013.
Although the increased fine could act as an incentive to buckle up, supporters of the bill mostly think that educational programs are key for increasing seat belt use and making it a habit that starts as a young driver.
Sen. Jacob LaTurner (R-Pittsburg) said SB 82 is personal to him because he lost a friend in high school who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was killed in a car accident. He said he supports programs such as SAFE and wants to find the correct funding for it.
“The success of this program has been a result of education, not a deterrent through fines,” LaTurner said.
Kelsie Jennings is a University of Kansas senior from Olathe, Kansas, majoring in journalism.