A new law taking effect Friday requires all passengers, no matter what age, to be securely buckled whether in the front seat or the back seat. Currently, backseat passengers who are 16 or older are not required to wear seatbelts.
The new law is all about saving lives, said state Sen. Bill Purcell, D-Scotland, the sponsor of the bill.
“In car crashes, persons unrestrained are 10 times more likely to have a severe injury and 20 times more likely to be killed than someone who is buckled,” Purcell said.
Purcell added that in some car crashes, an unbuckled backseat passenger can be thrown forward and become “like a flying missile.”
There is disagreement with the new law.
“There are just some things that the government ought to leave up to the individual,” said Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. “Adults in the back seats, it seems to me that individual ought to have the ability to make those kinds of decisions without the government making them for them.”
To me this seems like a no-brainer: it's one way to "make" people do things to save lives. I have no problem with it, just like I have no problem with the state's motorcycle helmet law. It's one of the few cases where Big Brother really does look out for us.
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