Angela Mapes, writing for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, has an article entitled “Seat Belt Measure Passes”. Assuming it’s signed by the Governor, the law will require occupants of pickup trucks and those in back seats of vehicles to use their seat belt. By complying with federal guidelines, Indiana will be entitled to $15 million from the feds. The Senate balked at changing the road fund formula to account for pick up trucks when determining how to distribute road fund money. So the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute offered to give $10 million worth of grants to rural counties that are generally considered “losers†under the current formula.
I am glad that part of this law as I read it last night is that the police can no longer set up those little signs that say seatbelt check point and snare people and check them out.
Technically, I think they could put up the signs, but they are not allowed to “use a safety belt checkpoint to detect and issue a citation for a person’s failure to [wear a seat belt].”
I was also pleased to see this language: ” a vehicle, the contents of a vehicle, the driver of a vehicle, or a passenger in a vehicle may not be inspected, searched, or detained solely because of a [seat belt violation].” I could be misremembering, but I seem to remember drafting that language myself for seat belt legislation years ago — it used to be that seat belt violations were not what they call “primarily enforceable” — the police couldn’t stop you just for a seat belt violation even if they saw it. The idea was to make the seat belt law primarily enforceable but try to limit its use as a pretext to search for other kinds of crimes.
Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t it seem odd that the ICJI is footing the bill for this compromise? I mean, what do they get out it other than the ability to start writing seat-belt tickets to a lot of vehicles that they weren’t eligible to write them for before. It just seems……I dunno, fishy.
Well, I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about the seatbelt issue.
I just wanna know from the folks who favor “racial profiling” how they can support THAT, but see CHECKPOINTS as a way of enfocement of seat belt laws as an intrusion into THEIR lives.
Doug,
We finally found something to agree about on this issue!
Yeah, I guess at the end of the day, I’m not interested in the government going a long way toward compelling people to buckle their seat belts if they truly don’t want to do it — though, I realize that by passing a law, they are at least ostensibly doing just that. I just realize my own pattern — before they passed the seat belt law, I sort of thought about it and was sort of against the idea of being forced to buckle up and against using the seat belt. But, when they passed the law, I wasn’t passionate about it. Like a good little sheep, I buckled up. Now I don’t even think about it. It’s pretty much just part of putting the key in the ignition.
And, I’m glad that’s the case. About 8 or 9 years ago, I was in a pretty ugly wreck where, absent a seat belt, I probably would have been in rough shape. As it was, I had a stiff neck for a couple of months and some pretty ugly scarring on my hand. But, all in all, the injuries were pretty superficial. If the state hadn’t coerced me into making the seat belt a habit, things would have been worse.
It’s a bad idea to extend anectdotal experience into universal law, but, nonetheless, I certainly let my individual experience color my thoughts on this issue.
Doug or anybody else,
How does a person find out how their representative voted on this or any other bill???I went to the General Assembly web site but all I could find was the end vote on this bill number of yeas and nays on 1237.Isn’t their someplace that breaks down the which way each Representative voted?
Thank You!
All of the information for HB 1237 is here. There were a number of roll call votes along the way and they’re all listed in the “Roll Calls” section of that page. Phillip, you’ll like this — the roll call vote for the House on the final conference committee bill (the form that passed) is Roll Call #666 (PDF format). (The Senate vote on the final version was Roll Call #535).
Thanks a lot Doug!A number of people including several family members asked or called me wanting to know how Crooks voted on this.I can say he has lost their vote from now on if he chooses to seek re-election.I think had the road funding change happened this would have helped him in many peoples eyes and justified his vote on this issue.
He stated on Meet Your Lawmakers he would take heat over this issue but felt voting yes was what he had to do.The first question from the audience was if the seatbelt bill passes will you change the road funding formula.
Funny,I remember him criticizing former Representative Woodruff for going against public sentiment by voting for the DST legislation.Although a little different since Woodruff promised to vote no then flip flopped on the issue.
Crooks has done almost the same thing promising to push a time zone referendum,and preffering Central time of course after elected he pulls the switch!
Now he writes a letter saying that’s what people in the district want because of a non- scientific survey of around 2000 people out of a 61,000 person district that’s a bold statement in my opinion!
Mr.Byrd submitted a good response to Crooks’ letter to the DOT in submission OST-2005-22114-5951.I exchanged several emails with Crooks presenting the economic evidence and overall commuter numbers which favor Central time he stated he had to study them or check the facts that was month’s ago and I never did get a response to the facts presented.I guess when the facts do not line up with the Eastern time position they are ignored by Crooks as well as Ice Miller LLP.
Ah, it just wouldn’t be a Masson’s Blog thread without DST coming into it. :)
Good point, Branden, about time issues and there are many new documents on the DOT docket,22114,some many pages long, and I’m one of those whose computer does allow to download anything over 2-3 pages, so I hope the administration of this blog continues to keep us informed on pertinent new developments
Lou,
The submissions titled multiple submitters of 20-50 pages are copies of Crooks non-scientific survey.The 120 page submission is a petition of 1600 names from mainly northernDaviess county for Eastern time.
Many of the other multiple page submissions are by people showing a link to advertising between the Petitioning counties and the Evansville Courier.
Another is from a Family resource type center submitted by a Jefferson Township Trustee for Central time in Pike county.
Yet another is from the Pike county Economic something or rather for Central time.
As I stated before and will state over and over again it is rediculous to change a time zone boundary that will inconvenience more work commuters,their schedules and family time to appease the minority.
As stated on page 8 of the April 8th responsealling out Ice Miller LLP for once again submitting false information the commuter numbers break down to this:
Currently 4490 people are burdened with living and working in different time zones if the boundary is changed as being proposed 13,116 will be burdened.That does not add up to a time zone change to me.
Closest major airport Evansville
Lrgest news paper circulation Evansville Courier over 12,000 in the Petitioning counties
Indy Star around 4,000
Unemployment rates are lower in the Central time counties than the Eastern time counties they border
Petiitioning counties are located in BEA area 54,the Evansville,KY commerce region
Petitioning counties located in the same workforce developement and education regions as many of the original Central time counties
January 17 2005 DOT states these counties are tied closer ie regional connections to each other and Central time counties to the south than any Eastern time counties they border
The economies of the counties and businesses continue to grow and expand all while observing Central time.A mountain of evidence has been submitted showing this.
Only a few businesses out of the thousands in the five counties have complained and some are global companies such as Kimball who has had record profits this year and even expanded by buying out the company Reptron.
The April 2nd correspondence form the DOT asks Ice Miller to yet again explain themselves for providing incorrect information,and misleading statements for the third time around.Also to provide contact people with whom they recieve their information since they never seem to do that the way Central time supporters always do.