Change in Georgia Seat Belt Laws Could Mean Less Severe Injuries, Plus $4 Million
If the following prospects are not tempting enough for Georgia's lawmakers to mandate seatbelt use on all pick up trucks:
- Reduced number of injuries during car accidents.
- Substantial drop in fatalities from collisions, and
- More Georgia residents walking from their mangled cars unscathed instead of dead or maimed - - -
there is another carrot that is looking juicy to our nearly-bankrupt state. It comes in the form of a $4 million grant that Georgia would be eligible for if it would only stop holding out on a complete extension of its current seat belt laws to cover all motor vehicles in the state.
Currently, children and adults in all vehicles are required to buckle up, but pickup drivers have so far been exempt from the seat belt laws. That exemption is the only thing standing between Georgia and a $4 million federal grant that the federal government has tied to stricter seatbelt laws. The money might have seemed like something we could ignore in years gone by, when there wasn’t a $2.3 billion budget deficit staring us in the face. Now more than ever, the prospect of a $4 million grant is looking more attractive than ever, and proponents of measure, including auto safety experts, insurance companies as well as this Atlanta car accident lawyer, have been joining in the chorus for stricter seatbelt laws. Lawmakers who have been pushing to include pickups have found that the budget deficit has given their proposal a strong boost. Currently, Georgia is the only state to exempt pickup drivers from mandatory seat belt laws.
Seatbelts Can Prevent Atlanta Car Accident Injuries and Deaths
The use of seatbelts, along with air bags, are the most important safety features we can avail ourselves to and if what it takes for the state's pick up drivers to buckle up is a law that requires them to, then so be it. As an Atlanta, Peachtree City and Newnan car accident attorney, I have often seen the effects of the failure to wear a seat belt in car crashes, and the long term effects they can have on a person's life and on the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Any law that can prevent more serious and permanent injuries on the roads of Georgia, certainly gets a thumbs up from me.
i drive a pickup and often do not buckle up.i know the government would like to have that $4 billions to get their raises and take their trips .i am not happy with the economy but getting greety and not handling our tax money right is what has gotten us in this mess we are in.