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Seat-belt crackdown sought

Bill would allow police stops for not buckling up

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 2, 2007 at midnight

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Lawmakers for three straight years have tried to pass a tougher seat-belt law, but it has failed by the slimmest of margins after dramatic floor fights.

Lawmakers again are poised for battle on the issue after a bill was introduced Thursday that would allow police to pull over drivers solely for failing to buckle up. It also would raise the age limit for kids who must be buckled into child-safety seats.

"We're just committed to trying to save lives," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver. "A tougher seat-belt law will generate more (federal) funding for the state. It's the right thing to do."

Supporters say a tougher law will save up to 70 lives annually, but opponents worry about racial profiling and infringing on citizens' personal freedoms.

The measure stands a better chance this year because Democrats hold more seats. Traditionally the bill has been opposed by a majority of Republicans and supported by a minority of Democrats.

Under Senate Bill 151, also sponsored by Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, drivers who aren't buckled up can be pulled over and ticketed. Currently, they can only be ticketed if they are stopped for another traffic infraction.

In addition, the bill would require children 8 and younger to use a safety seat. Existing law requires safety seats for children up to age 4.

But police couldn't pull over a driver solely because of a child-seat infraction.

Rep. Morgan Carroll, a Democrat from Aurora, last year gave an impassioned speech against allowing police to pull over drivers solely because of seat-belt infractions and she said she hasn't changed her position.

"It opens the door to police harassment. It will take away any pretext that exists now to curb racial profiling," Carroll said. "At least now, they have to fake racial profiling, and once in a while they get busted."

But the bill's sponsors argued a tougher seat-belt law would prevent more than 600 serious injuries a year.

"It's first and foremost about saving lives," Rice said.

The Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Patrol are pushing the measure, saying it would bring the state $12.5 million in federal grants for much-needed transportation projects.

Carroll and Republican opponents call that carrot-and-stick "federal blackmail money."

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