Arizona Seatbelt Bill Dies, Passengers In Back Can Stay Unbuckled

PHOENIX, AZ – If you're in the backseat and you like riding without a seatbelt, you don't have to worry. About getting a ticket, that is.

A bill that would have required people to buckle-up, regardless of where they are sitting in a vehicle, was killed by the state senate. It didn't even make it out of a committee that was considering it.

Opponents of the bill focused on a part of a bill that would have allowed police to pull over a vehicle if someone was unbuckled. They cited issues including wearing a seatbelt is a personal choice that should not be regulated and police have better things to do.

The decision by the Senate's Committee on Health and Human Services to kill the bill – which had passed the House – continues Arizona's record of lax seatbelt enforcement.

While people riding in the front are required to wear a seatbelt, police are not allowed to pull someone over for that.

If they pull someone over for another reason, and they see that the person is not wearing a belt, they can give them a ticket.

The maximum fine in that case is $10.