By comparison, the 105 fatalities in 1998 represented 44 percent of that year's 237 traffic fatalities. Five of the 12 fatalities to date in 2000 have involved single-vehicle crashes where the occupants were not wearing their seatbelts. Meanwhile, in 146 of the traffic deaths from all types of crashes in 1999, the people killed were not wearing their seatbelts, Mazurek said. That compares to 145 in 1998. The 1999 Legislature did not pass a bill that would have allowed officers to stop vehicles and cite the driver when they notice that occupants aren't wearing seat belts.
Current law requires seat belt use by all passengers where a belt is available.
Officers can issue citations only if they stop the vehicle for another traffic violation and find that the occupants are unbelted. Col. Bert Obert, head of the Montana Highway Patrol, said that the Patrol is doing everything it can to make drivers recognize just how important it is to wear their seatbelts. He noted that the Patrol is focusing on increasing public education efforts and issuing citations rather than warnings for failure to wear seatbelts. But until then, we want to encourage drivers to think about the unnecessary risk they are taking when they choose not to buckle up.