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In an attempt to improve travel safety, Gov. Rod Blagojevich last week signed three new bills into law that should save thousands of lives.
The primary seatbelt law gives police officers the authority to pull over and ticket motorists who are not wearing their seatbelts.
Under previous law, motorists could only be ticketed for seat belt violations after committing another traffic violation.
"This will open up easier avenues of enforcement for our officers," said Lt. Todd Sigler of the SIUC Police Department. "Ideally, the law will encourage enforcement among the population, so that we don't have to enforce it. But with the population of our jurisdiction, we have a lot of other responsibilities, so there won't be any significant changes."
Under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003, a proposed reauthorization bill, Illinois would be eligible to receive $31 million in federal dollars for pDE Staff Reporter Daily Egyptian
assing its primary safety belt law.
Another piece of legislation adds a restriction to the existing graduated driver licensing system.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, 40 percent of all deaths among 15-20-year-olds are a result of traffic accidents.
In response to these shocking numbers, Illinois will now join 20 other states that have added restrictions to the existing graduated driver licensing system by allowing no more than one teenage passenger to be in a vehicle at one time.
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said that he did not by any means support this legislation.
"If a person is not qualified to drive with more than one person under the age of 18 in the car, then no 16-year-old should be able to have a cell phone or have the radio on while driving because those things are a distraction and probably cause a larger number of accidents," Bost said sarcastically.
"It puts rural areas in a tough situation, because quite often in today's society, when children are able to drive, families depend on them to drive to run errands and take younger children places."
The third piece of legislation requires children under the age of 8 to ride in booster seats.
In a 1996 safety study, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended legislation that would require children up to age 8 to use child restraint systems or booster seats. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia followed suit and established such laws, while seven other states are considering similar proposals.
"We are proponents of any child safety restraint systems," Sigler said. "Although we generally don't come in direct contact with it, other jurisdictions have used these measures and they seem to be effective."
