There are various penalties and injury dangers associated with not wearing a seat belt in Montana. First, the failure to wear a seat belt in Montana will result in the driver having to pay a $20 fine. This penalty will not be counted as a misdemeanor, and it cannot be counted as a moving violation when it comes to the process of suspending a person's driver's license.
According to data available from the Montana Highway Patrol, there were 546 seat belt citations issued across the state by the department during the latest reporting year. This is a significant drop in the number of citations issued when examining the previous year, where there were 1,324 seat belt citations issued.
However, the good news is that Montana's current seat belt usage hovers around 87%. Experts do say that seat belt usage would increase if Montana had a primary seat belt law, as states that do use primary enforcement see their seat belt usage increase by approximately 12%.
Even though the fines for non-seat belt usage may seem fairly paltry when it comes to deterring a person from reckless behavior in Montana, the reality is that using a seat belt is just common sense. Seat belts minimize the effects of vehicle crashes on the human body. Not only will a seat belt help a person sustain fewer injuries with the initial collision with another vehicle or object, but it can also prevent the body from striking a hard surface as a secondary impact after an initial collision occurs.