Arizona law requires the use of seatbelts when driving.
Why? Is this a reasonable infringement upon personal choice?
Arizona’s Seatbelt Laws
Each state makes its own laws about whether a seatbelt is required.
Seatbelt laws have two classifications—a primary law or a secondary law. A primary law is one where a police officer can pull a driver over just for failing to wear a seatbelt. A secondary law is one where there has to be some other reason for the officer to pull a driver over before the officer may issue a citation for not wearing a seatbelt.
Arizona has a secondary seatbelt law. In Arizona, in most cases, if a driver is cited for not wearing a seatbelt, it is because he was pulled over for some other reason. The police can, however, pull you over if you have a minor in the car who is not is not wearing a seatbelt
Why Should You Wear a Seatbelt?
Most of us have a general idea of why we should wear a seatbelt. However, it is worthwhile to review for a moment some of the good reasons for wearing one.
They can keep you from being ejected from your car—In a high impact collision or a rollover accident, seatbelts are designed to keep you in your seat, so that you are not ejected from your car and injured severely.
They can keep you from getting killed–The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that seatbelts saved nearly 15,000 lives in 2016 alone. In a high impact crash wearing a seatbelt increases your chances of survival.
Your family and friends—If lack of a seatbelt causes a crash to be fatal, it is not just your life that is lost. Your family and friends will also suffer loss. Additionally, if you are severely injured, you may cause a great burden on your family that would not have been present had you worn a seatbelt.
They can Reduce Medical Bills—The more severe injuries from a car accident without seatbelts likely will substantially increase the medical bills you will have to pay
The other driver can blame you for your injuries—In Arizona personal injury law, there is something called the “seatbelt defense.” Under this law, another driver can blame you for your injuries, even if that driver violated the law. For example, the other drive could run a red light, hit you, and then claim that your injuries are your fault for not wearing a seatbelt. The red light runner in this case would be able to argue at trial that he or she should not have to pay all of your medical bills, because you made the choice not to wear a seatbelt.
It is easy to focus on the intrusion on our lives because the State of Arizona requires us to wear a seatbelt by law. After all, we all like to make personal decisions without the government dictating what we do. However, it is also worthwhile to focus on the great benefits of seatbelts. Arizona seems to have made an effort to balance public safety against personal privacy and choice. The police only have the right to ticket you for a seatbelt violation if you were pulled over for another reason. This makes the law less invasive of your privacy Also, in Arizona, seatbelt tickets are relatively inexpensive, and do not place a heavy burden on Arizona citizens.
Even though penalties are light in Arizona, I, for one, will be wearing my seatbelt.
If another driver has injured you, reach out to attorney John Evans for help. He has 35 years of experience helping injured people. You can reach John at 480-573-0600.
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