JEFFERSON CITY — Legislation sponsored by Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis, is scheduled for consideration in the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee tomorrow (2-13) at 8:00 a.m. in Senate Committee Room 1, located on the first floor of the Capitol Building. The measure (SB 62) would increase the fine for seat belt violations from $10 to $50. Senator Keaveny’s priority with the measure is to promote regular seat belt use and prevent motor vehicle injuries and fatalities.

In 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that a primary seat belt law in Missouri would save at least 63 lives a year and would prevent 759 serious injuries, while also bringing in $16.2 million for Missouri Department of Transportation safety engineering projects.

“Throughout my years in the Legislature, I have fought to help protect drivers and passengers on the roadways; the best way to help prevent fatal injury is to simply fasten your seat belt, which can reduce your risk of fatal injury by 45 percent,” Sen. Keaveny said. “Studies confirm that higher fines for seat belt violations contribute to increased seat belt use, thus indicating a higher fine in Missouri would encourage more citizens to buckle up,” Sen. Keaveny said.

Senator Keaveny also adds that, according to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, Missouri’s seat belt use is 79 percent; the national rate is 84 percent. Teenagers, in particular, are less likely to use their seat belts. A report submitted by the Missouri Safety Center in 2012 stated that safety belt use for all teenage drivers and teenage passengers in the front seat combined was 66.3 percent — a 1.1 percent decrease from 2011 (67.4 percent).

“Teenagers are especially vulnerable to motor vehicle accidents, due to poor judgment and simple inexperience as drivers,” Sen. Keaveny said. “As parents, we need to educate our children to make responsible decisions while on the road and encourage them to make safety their first priority. In addition, if our children are dedicated to wearing their seat belts and making good decisions while behind the wheel, their friends are likely to follow their example and buckle up.”

If voted out of its respective committee, SB 62 may receive full debate in the upper chamber of the Missouri Senate. For more information about the measure, visit Sen. Keaveny’s Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/keaveny.