I suppose that I should feel ashamed for not knowing the seat belt laws in all 50 states. I thought that front-seat seatbelt usage was mandatory countrywide. That appears not to be the case.yet.
From Insurance Journal
The Live Free or Die state’s days of unrestrained driving could be numbered.
New Hampshire would give up its status as the only state without a mandatory seat belt law for adults under a bill approved narrowly Thursday by the House.[.]
Opponents argued insurance rates wouldn’t decrease if the law was passed. They said the issue was not whether wearing seat belts is a good thing to do but whether government should tell adults what to do.
I’ll agree that the impact on insurance rates is likely to be minor – the article notes a 64% seat-belt usage rate in NH already, and even in states where seat belt infractions are primary offenses, compliance rate isn’t 100% (e.g., Kansas DOT reports that the US complaince rate is 82%), and a shift in usage rates would likely be gradual, and the impacts in auto insurance losses would be diluted by other trends.
And, while I can empathize with the libertarian stance of the government not compeling citizens to exercise good sense, I can tolerate mandatory seat belt laws on the basis that another driver’s increased likelihood of flying through the windshield is likely to impact me, through the incremental drain on medical resources, slightly worse traffic conditions in the wake of extra accident investigation, etc.
