House passes Sen. Thomas’ Seat Belt Legislation
ATLANTA (April 27, 2010) – The House of Representatives voted to save Georgians’ lives today by passing Senate Bill 458, Sen. Thomas’ (R-Dalton) seat belt legislation, which closes the pick-up truck loophole in current seat belt laws. The bill passed with a vote of 132-29.
“This legislation is a long overdue, life-saving step for all Georgians,” said Thomas. “I am thankful we could all work together to ensure the passage of legislation that will prevent unnecessary deaths and injuries while saving money.”
In Georgia alone, over 67 percent of pick-up truck related deaths came from those not wearing a seat belt. Closing the pickup truck loophole will save Georgians $25 million in Medicaid costs over a 10-year period. Additionally, Georgia will become eligible for federal incentive grants from the Traffic Safety Institute once this legislation is passed.
Current law requires each occupant of the front seat of a car, van, or SUV to be restrained by a seatbelt. This legislation redefines the term “passenger vehicle,” requiring all passengers in the front seat of a pickup truck are restrained by a seatbelt. The bill exempts off-road and pick-up trucks involved in agricultural operations.
Sen. Don Thomas serves as chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee. He represents the 54th Senate District, which includes Murray and Whitfield counties and portions of Catoosa and Gordon counties. He may be reached by phone at 404-656-6436 or by e-mail at don.thomas@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
April 27, 2010
For Information Contact:
Natalie Strong, Deputy Director
Katie Wright, Communications Associate
katie.wright@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Georgia House of Representatives passes SB 458,requiring seat belts in pickup trucks!!!!
Ga. votes to require adults to buckle up in pickups, ending years of holdout on issue
GREG BLUESTEIN
Associated Press Writer
2:45 PM PDT, April 27, 2010
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia is poised to join the rest of the nation in requiring adults in pickup trucks to wear seat belts, ending years of frustration by public safety advocates who had long sought to change the state law.
The Georgia House on Tuesday passed a measure that would end Georgia's distinction as the last state in the nation to specifically exempt adults in pickups from buckling up.
The measure's supporters came armed each year with frightening statistics about the number of lives that could be saved, accidents avoided and medical costs saved if Georgia tweaked the law. But each time the effort was stymied in the state House by rural lawmakers who see the rule as an unnecessary regulation.
That changed Tuesday when the measure sailed through the House by a 132-29 vote. Supporters also beat back an amendment that would have made the new rule harder to enforce.
"This is a common sense measure whose time has come," said Mickey Channell, a Greensboro Republican. "It will save lives. It will save money. And it does not cost us a dime."
The Senate has already passed the measure and it now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue, who has indicated he would sign the legislation.
Georgia already requires minors to wear seat belts and adults to wear them in all vehicles except pickups. Indiana once took a similar position as Georgia, but the state in 2007 passed the adult seat belt law for pickups. New Hampshire has no seat belt requirement for all adults.
On the Net:
Senate Bill 458:
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/
GREG BLUESTEIN
Associated Press Writer
2:45 PM PDT, April 27, 2010
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia is poised to join the rest of the nation in requiring adults in pickup trucks to wear seat belts, ending years of frustration by public safety advocates who had long sought to change the state law.
The Georgia House on Tuesday passed a measure that would end Georgia's distinction as the last state in the nation to specifically exempt adults in pickups from buckling up.
The measure's supporters came armed each year with frightening statistics about the number of lives that could be saved, accidents avoided and medical costs saved if Georgia tweaked the law. But each time the effort was stymied in the state House by rural lawmakers who see the rule as an unnecessary regulation.
That changed Tuesday when the measure sailed through the House by a 132-29 vote. Supporters also beat back an amendment that would have made the new rule harder to enforce.
"This is a common sense measure whose time has come," said Mickey Channell, a Greensboro Republican. "It will save lives. It will save money. And it does not cost us a dime."
The Senate has already passed the measure and it now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue, who has indicated he would sign the legislation.
Georgia already requires minors to wear seat belts and adults to wear them in all vehicles except pickups. Indiana once took a similar position as Georgia, but the state in 2007 passed the adult seat belt law for pickups. New Hampshire has no seat belt requirement for all adults.
On the Net:
Senate Bill 458:
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
SB 458 passes
Senate passes Seat Belt Legislation
ATLANTA (March 24, 2010) – The Senate voted to save Georgians’ lives today by passing Senate Bill 458, Sen. Thomas’ (R-Dalton) seat belt legislation, which closes the pick-up truck loophole in current seat belt laws. SB 458 passed with a vote of 45-2.
“This is an exciting day in the Senate,” said Thomas. “We have once again voted to save lives and money by passing this legislation. With new leadership in the House, I am confident this bill will end up on the governor’s desk.”
In Georgia alone, over 67 percent of pick-up truck related deaths came from those not wearing a seat belt. Closing the pickup truck loophole will save Georgians $25 million in Medicaid costs over a 10-year period. Additionally, Georgia will become eligible for federal incentive grants from the Traffic Safety Institute once this legislation is passed.
Current law requires each occupant of the front seat of a car, van, or SUV to be restrained by a seatbelt. This legislation redefines the term “passenger vehicle,” requiring all passengers in the front seat of a pickup truck are restrained by a seatbelt. The bill exempts off-road and pick-up trucks involved in agricultural operations.
Sen. Don Thomas serves as chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee. He represents the 54th Senate District, which includes Murray and Whitfield counties and portions of Catoosa and Gordon counties.
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/senate/pressreleases.htm
http://bit.ly/99F6fa
ATLANTA (March 24, 2010) – The Senate voted to save Georgians’ lives today by passing Senate Bill 458, Sen. Thomas’ (R-Dalton) seat belt legislation, which closes the pick-up truck loophole in current seat belt laws. SB 458 passed with a vote of 45-2.
“This is an exciting day in the Senate,” said Thomas. “We have once again voted to save lives and money by passing this legislation. With new leadership in the House, I am confident this bill will end up on the governor’s desk.”
In Georgia alone, over 67 percent of pick-up truck related deaths came from those not wearing a seat belt. Closing the pickup truck loophole will save Georgians $25 million in Medicaid costs over a 10-year period. Additionally, Georgia will become eligible for federal incentive grants from the Traffic Safety Institute once this legislation is passed.
Current law requires each occupant of the front seat of a car, van, or SUV to be restrained by a seatbelt. This legislation redefines the term “passenger vehicle,” requiring all passengers in the front seat of a pickup truck are restrained by a seatbelt. The bill exempts off-road and pick-up trucks involved in agricultural operations.
Sen. Don Thomas serves as chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee. He represents the 54th Senate District, which includes Murray and Whitfield counties and portions of Catoosa and Gordon counties.
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/senate/pressreleases.htm
http://bit.ly/99F6fa
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Reid's mothers belief about helping teenagers The Metter Advertiser
It's something I'm obligated to do...11/17/2009
by Jerri Goodman The results were disheartening: In a recent observational survey, only 10 percent of Metter High School student drivers were observed wearing seat belts as they arrived at school. The statistic, Leigh Webb said, is “pitiful.” Webb, a former school nurse at Metter Elementary School, is now pursuing her masters in nursing, emphasizing in community health. As part of her course of study, she has signed on with the “Georgia Is Buckle-Up Country” seat belt awareness campaign. “My focus is on teens and seat belts,” said Webb. And no one understands the importance of saving the lives of teen drivers more than Webb. Her son, Reid, was killed in a car crash in 2006 at the age of 17. “This is something I’m obligated to do as Reid’s mother,” she said of her involvement with the campaign. Her goal, she said, is to make parents aware of what safety precautions their children take when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Currently, Webb and Katie Burkett of the Georgia Office of Highway Safety Injury Prevention Program are conducting observational services each month at Metter High School and will be conducting the surveys at ECI as well. “The surveys are not easy,” Webb said, “and we want consistency in developing our numbers.” Webb said the importance of the surveys, which require actual observation of students as they arrive at school, is to open dialogue between parents and children about seat belt use. One area that needs special attention, Webb said, is teen males driving pick-ups. “Pick-ups have the lowest seat belt use, especially among males,” Webb reported, adding that Georgia is the only state that does not have a law making it mandatory for seat belt use in pick-ups for adults. All drivers and passengers 18 and younger are supposed to be buckled up, but in Georgia, an adult driving a pick-up does not have to use a seat belt. “I’m pushing for that law to be changed,” Webb said. “When you have a child watching an adult drive without a seat belt, you’ve increased the chances of that child driving without one.” Webb has talked with legislators at the Capitol to have the state law changed, but regardless of the outcome of that legislation, she said, her main emphasis is still seat belt use in every vehicle, every time. To learn more about the “Georgia Is Buckle Up-Country” seat belt campaign or ways to help your young driver be safer on the highway, visit the Georgia Office of Highway Safety web site, www.gahighwaysafety.org. The Metter Advertiser will post results for subsequent surveys at MHS as they become available.
The Metter Advertiser
by Jerri Goodman The results were disheartening: In a recent observational survey, only 10 percent of Metter High School student drivers were observed wearing seat belts as they arrived at school. The statistic, Leigh Webb said, is “pitiful.” Webb, a former school nurse at Metter Elementary School, is now pursuing her masters in nursing, emphasizing in community health. As part of her course of study, she has signed on with the “Georgia Is Buckle-Up Country” seat belt awareness campaign. “My focus is on teens and seat belts,” said Webb. And no one understands the importance of saving the lives of teen drivers more than Webb. Her son, Reid, was killed in a car crash in 2006 at the age of 17. “This is something I’m obligated to do as Reid’s mother,” she said of her involvement with the campaign. Her goal, she said, is to make parents aware of what safety precautions their children take when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Currently, Webb and Katie Burkett of the Georgia Office of Highway Safety Injury Prevention Program are conducting observational services each month at Metter High School and will be conducting the surveys at ECI as well. “The surveys are not easy,” Webb said, “and we want consistency in developing our numbers.” Webb said the importance of the surveys, which require actual observation of students as they arrive at school, is to open dialogue between parents and children about seat belt use. One area that needs special attention, Webb said, is teen males driving pick-ups. “Pick-ups have the lowest seat belt use, especially among males,” Webb reported, adding that Georgia is the only state that does not have a law making it mandatory for seat belt use in pick-ups for adults. All drivers and passengers 18 and younger are supposed to be buckled up, but in Georgia, an adult driving a pick-up does not have to use a seat belt. “I’m pushing for that law to be changed,” Webb said. “When you have a child watching an adult drive without a seat belt, you’ve increased the chances of that child driving without one.” Webb has talked with legislators at the Capitol to have the state law changed, but regardless of the outcome of that legislation, she said, her main emphasis is still seat belt use in every vehicle, every time. To learn more about the “Georgia Is Buckle Up-Country” seat belt campaign or ways to help your young driver be safer on the highway, visit the Georgia Office of Highway Safety web site, www.gahighwaysafety.org. The Metter Advertiser will post results for subsequent surveys at MHS as they become available.
The Metter Advertiser
Road Rules For Reid | Make Good Choices
What can others do to help teenagers in Georgia?
Georgia is the only state in the U.S., to not have a law mandating seat belts for pickup trucks.
THIS YEAR, Finally Pass the law requiring seat belts for pickup trucks!
• Forty-one percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes were Rural or Small-town residents traveling on rural roads.
• Many male teen drivers, especially those that live in rural areas, drive pickup trucks. They may have grown up watching their mother wearing a seatbelt in the car since that is required by law but many males (fathers) in rural areas drive pickup trucks and therefore, are not required to buckle up. Who do you think the son is going to mimic?
• Let’s change this so that we are not the only state in the nation that does not require it.
Talk to your representatives about SB 86 and ask that they support it this year!
Road Rules For Reid Make Good Choices
Georgia is the only state in the U.S., to not have a law mandating seat belts for pickup trucks.
THIS YEAR, Finally Pass the law requiring seat belts for pickup trucks!
• Forty-one percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes were Rural or Small-town residents traveling on rural roads.
• Many male teen drivers, especially those that live in rural areas, drive pickup trucks. They may have grown up watching their mother wearing a seatbelt in the car since that is required by law but many males (fathers) in rural areas drive pickup trucks and therefore, are not required to buckle up. Who do you think the son is going to mimic?
• Let’s change this so that we are not the only state in the nation that does not require it.
Talk to your representatives about SB 86 and ask that they support it this year!
Road Rules For Reid Make Good Choices
Georgia is Buckle-Up Country
Georgia is Buckle-Up Country
By: LEIGH WEBB
Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:23 PM EST
As in Luke Bryan’s song, "We Rode in Trucks" let’s help Georgian’s sing, “Where I grew up, we rode in trucks…” but were buckled up! Georgia is Buckle-Up Country.Everyone knows Georgia is famous for peaches, the home of Coca-Cola, and good old southern hospitality. However, did you also know our great state is also known for the high fatality rates on country roads? Georgia has many beautiful rural roadways, but unfortunately, these rural roads have more than double the fatality rate of Georgia’s urban areas (Georgia DOT crash data, 2004). This statistic would not seem as striking if it were not for the fact that only 18% of the total population of Georgia lives in rural areas, yet they account for over half of all traffic fatalities.Country singer/songwriter Luke Bryan has a hit song called: “We rode in trucks” which mentions the joy of growing up as a young boy in the country and riding country roads. Ironically, the population that has the highest fatality rates in these crashes on rural roadways is young males driving pickup trucks. Nearly 75% of these pickup truck occupants killed in Georgia did not have on a seatbelt as compared to 46% in passenger cars. A 2005 study showed that safety belt usage rates for pickup trucks were only at 76% vs. passenger vehicles at 91%. Safety belt use in pickup trucks is the lowest in rural areas.These are some pretty sobering statistics that strongly indicate the importance of buckling up. However, the drivers that are least likely to buckle up, young males, are also the part of the population that is perishing in traffic crashes at an alarming rate. Georgia has a campaign targeting this area of the vulnerable population that is called “Georgia is Buckle-Up Country” (Governor’s Office of Highway Safety). So let’s get the word out that “Where I grew up, we rode in trucks…” but were buckled up! “Seat belts save lives” it’s a fact.
Georgia Law states: “All occupants of any passenger vehicle including pickup trucks must utilize a seat safety belt if they are under the age of 18. When used correctly, safety belts are effective at helping reduce the risk of death or serious injury. Georgia has a ‘primary’ safety belt law, meaning that officers may stop and cite violators without observing another violation” (2009 Driver’s Manuel).Did you know these are the most at risk?• Young drivers from (16-24 yrs old)• Males (who have almost 3 times higher fatality rate compared to females)• Pickup trucks on rural roads are the most at risk
The Forest Blade > Community
By: LEIGH WEBB
Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:23 PM EST
As in Luke Bryan’s song, "We Rode in Trucks" let’s help Georgian’s sing, “Where I grew up, we rode in trucks…” but were buckled up! Georgia is Buckle-Up Country.Everyone knows Georgia is famous for peaches, the home of Coca-Cola, and good old southern hospitality. However, did you also know our great state is also known for the high fatality rates on country roads? Georgia has many beautiful rural roadways, but unfortunately, these rural roads have more than double the fatality rate of Georgia’s urban areas (Georgia DOT crash data, 2004). This statistic would not seem as striking if it were not for the fact that only 18% of the total population of Georgia lives in rural areas, yet they account for over half of all traffic fatalities.Country singer/songwriter Luke Bryan has a hit song called: “We rode in trucks” which mentions the joy of growing up as a young boy in the country and riding country roads. Ironically, the population that has the highest fatality rates in these crashes on rural roadways is young males driving pickup trucks. Nearly 75% of these pickup truck occupants killed in Georgia did not have on a seatbelt as compared to 46% in passenger cars. A 2005 study showed that safety belt usage rates for pickup trucks were only at 76% vs. passenger vehicles at 91%. Safety belt use in pickup trucks is the lowest in rural areas.These are some pretty sobering statistics that strongly indicate the importance of buckling up. However, the drivers that are least likely to buckle up, young males, are also the part of the population that is perishing in traffic crashes at an alarming rate. Georgia has a campaign targeting this area of the vulnerable population that is called “Georgia is Buckle-Up Country” (Governor’s Office of Highway Safety). So let’s get the word out that “Where I grew up, we rode in trucks…” but were buckled up! “Seat belts save lives” it’s a fact.
Georgia Law states: “All occupants of any passenger vehicle including pickup trucks must utilize a seat safety belt if they are under the age of 18. When used correctly, safety belts are effective at helping reduce the risk of death or serious injury. Georgia has a ‘primary’ safety belt law, meaning that officers may stop and cite violators without observing another violation” (2009 Driver’s Manuel).Did you know these are the most at risk?• Young drivers from (16-24 yrs old)• Males (who have almost 3 times higher fatality rate compared to females)• Pickup trucks on rural roads are the most at risk
The Forest Blade > Community
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