Ron Henke, Director, N.D. Department of Transportation

Col. Brandon Solberg, N.D. Highway Patrol, Bismarck

Seat belts save lives. That’s the reason North Dakota’s law is changing from secondary enforcement to primary enforcement on Aug. 1.

Seat belts are the single most effective safety device to prevent death and injury in a motor vehicle crash. Research shows having a primary law over a secondary law can result in a 10-12% increase in observed seat belt use and reduce passenger vehicle driver deaths by 7%. Those statistics are important because the number one contributing factor in motor vehicle crash deaths in North Dakota is not wearing a seat belt.

Primary enforcement means no other violation is required for a driver to be pulled over by law enforcement and issued a seat belt citation. The law requires all occupants to wear a seat belt, regardless of where they are sitting in the vehicle. The change to the law is not about giving law enforcement another reason to pull people over; it’s about saving lives by making the current law more effective in gaining voluntary compliance so more people will wear their seat belt to prevent occupants from being ejected or becoming a projectile in the vehicle.

Zero fatalities on North Dakota roads is not only attainable but also vital. When it comes to your life or the lives of your family and friends, is any other number acceptable?

A primary seat belt law gets us closer to the goal we all share – getting home safe. Vision Zero. Zero fatalities. Zero excuses.