The Times is doing a series of articles highlighting common laws and rules. Today, we examine the seat belt law. To suggest a law for The Times to highlight, contact the writer.
Just a few years ago, people in pickup trucks were not required to wear seat belts.
But Indiana law now requires people, whether they're in a car or truck, to wear a seat belt. Children younger than 8 must be restrained in a child safety seat or booster seat.
And, whereas police once had to stop a person for an offense like speeding in order to ticket them for a seat belt violation, authorities can now pull a person over solely for not wearing a seat belt.
Indiana law also makes it illegal to ride in the bed of a pickup truck or to have more occupants in a vehicle than there are seat belts.
The strengthening of the seat belt law and the use of Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement blitzes has combined to increase seat belt usage, officials say.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute said the state's observed seat belt usage increased from 62.1 percent in 2000 to 91.2 percent in 2008. Additionally, seat belt usage among pickup truck drivers jumped from 49.5 percent in 2005 to more than 79 percent in 2007.
Valparaiso police Sgt. Michael Grennes said the increase in seat belt usage has decreased fatalities.
"I've been to crash scenes that were high impact and people walked away because of seat belts," he said. "I've been to lower-impact crashes where people were seriously injured because they weren't wearing seat belts."
Grennes said the skyrocketing seat belt usage is encouraging, but there are still those who will not wear seat belts, as evidenced by the approximately 1,000 seat belt tickets Valparaiso police wrote in 2008.
There are some people who don't have to wear seat belts, including those who have a doctor's note exempting them, delivery drivers who make frequent stops, driver examiners, people in a farm truck on a farm, people in a parade, people riding in the back of a recreational vehicle or ambulance, people in the sleeping area of a semi, people riding in a public utility vehicle in an emergency and occupants other than the operator of a garbage truck, truck on a construction site or tow truck.
The child restraint laws don't apply in the cases of school buses, taxi cabs, ambulances, religious or youth vehicles that seat at least 10, antique vehicles, motorcycles, law enforcement vehicles, vehicles being used in an emergency and funeral vehicles in a procession or returning from one.
