Tennessee Safety Commissioner Bill GibbonsNASHVILLE – Tennessee’s fines for driving without a seat belt would more than double under a Haslam administration bill that Safety Department officials say is needed to cut the death toll on Tennessee highways.
House Transportation Subcommittee members approved the bill on a 7-2 vote, clearing the way for the measure to proceed to the full committee and at least three other panels after that. The Senate version has yet to move.
The bill boosts fines for not wearing a seat belt from $10 to $25 on first offense and $50 for second and subsequent offenses.
“As you know one of our primary goals is to reduce fatalities,” Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons said after the vote. “And historically over half of traffic fatalities in Tennessee have involved individuals who do not wear.”
About 84 percent of Tennesseans wear their seat belts, Gibbons said, adding, “so 16 percent of people are responsible for over half of traffic fatalities due to not wearing seat belts. It’s a criminal offense.”