New push to require teens to buckle up

DES MOINES – Vehicle safety proponents are making a new push to expand Iowa's seat-belt law to include back-seat passengers under 18 years of age.

A Senate subcommittee Thursday approved a measure that would change the current law requiring the use of seat belts, safety harnesses or child restraint systems for back-seat passengers under age 10 to cover youngster in the 11-17 age range effective July 1.

“I don't think this bill goes far enough,” said Sen. Bill Heckroth, D-Waverly. “I think it should be everybody but we'll take what we can get.”

Safety advocates provided some grisly statistics about injuries and fatalities involving unbelted teenaged passengers. They also told lawmakers the proposed change would help “change the safety culture” among teenagers and give parents more sway “if it's the law” when reminding their youngsters to buckle up.

“What this law does is give us some teeth,” said Tanya Zaglauer, a West Des Moines police officer.

Kathy Leggett of Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines said 84 percent of the 1,823 unbelted youth injured in Iowa traffic mishaps from 2004 to 2007 were in the 11-17 age group. Likewise, 85 percent of the 71 unbelted fatalities during the same period were back-seat passengers in the 11-17 age range.

“We're one of the few states that don't require seat belts in the back seat for youth,” she said.

Ross Loder of the state Department of Public Safety said unbelted back-seat passengers oftentimes are ejected from vehicles or pose a risk to front-seat passengers when they are projected forward in crash situations. “That's something that happens too frequently,” he said.

“I don't see any down side. I don't see any losers in this,” said Sen. Daryl Beall, D-Fort Dodge.

However, Sen. Merlin Bartz, R-Grafton, said the effort was similar to past legislative proposals to require motorcyclists to wear helmets or ban passengers from riding in the bed of a pickup truck.

“It sounds like another example of big sister/big brother wanting to regulate our lives to death,” he said. “How much influence should government have over our daily lives and our daily activities?”

Bartz said he would advise his teenager to wear a seat belt while traveling in the back seat of a car, but he added “I don't think we need a law to require it.”