Primary vs. Secondary Seat Belt Laws

Our home state of Massachusetts is considering primary enforcement of its seat belt law, meaning a motorist can be pulled over for not wearing his/her seat belt, as opposed to only receiving a ticket for this violation if pulled over for another offense (known as “secondary” seat belt law enforcement). We find the scientific evidence quite convincing that moving from secondary to primary enforcement 1) increases seat belt use, and 2) reduces death and injury from motor vehicle crashes. Download a quick list of studies on this issue.