They've already got 95% compliance on seatbelts. The cops should focus on something more important, like people talking on their cell phones and driving erratically. Cell phones kill innocent people. The only person killed by seatbelts is the idiot who didn't wear it.

I agree. People talking on cell phones endanger not themselves, or their passengers, but everyone else on the road. The culture has pretty much changed regarding seat belt use, virtually everyone now uses seat belts. We have a long way to go before we see similar compliance with cell phone laws: enforcement could really help this along.

How about spending more time on giving tickets to bicycle riders who continue to ignore red lights and stop signs particularly on University and Hamilton.

Focus on the real crime. I have never heard of a bicyclist killing an innocent car driver. The reverse happens regularly (including several recent cases in Palo Alto).

"The only person killed by seatbelts is the idiot who didn't wear it."

Surprisingly, this isn't necessarily true. An unrestrained person in the vehicle can seriously injure or kill other people in that same car who may be restrained. (All it takes is one unrestrained person!) A 2004 Seattle study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicated that an unrestrained body beside, behind or in front of a restrained person increases the risk of death of the restrained person. It's therefore important that everyone in the car buckles up.

Web Link

Is an officer peeking into other cars paying less attention to traffic?

The cost to society from people who don't wear seat belts is high. If they are killed the roads are closed for hours and the police spend a long time doing investigations and reconstruction. If they are ejected but not killed they are usually injured very seriously and we all pay in increased insurance costs for the expensive emergency transport and extensive medical treatment they use. We are all in this together and those who act irresponsibly cost the rest of us money. It IS our business, not just those whose lives are directly affected.

Seat belt use in some states is only 60% - 70%, which is pathetic compared to California. Those are states where seat belt enforcement can not be done as a "primary" offense; the officer can only write up a seat belt ticket if the driver is stopped for some other primary violation.

Seat belts, really? How about going after the drivers that run the traffic lights after they turn red, something I witness every single day.

I agree that running red lights is more serious than not wearing a seat belt, but wanted to express my disagreement with those who seem to think that seat belt use is solely a personal decision with no impact on the rest of us. I also feel that while red light running and cell phone use are more serious than not wearing a seat belt, that does not mean we should stop enforcing the law. How would you like it if your doctor decided not to give you any information on how to avoid skin cancer because he thought you were more likely to die of heart disease? We need to be concerned about all of the above, and we can't fixate on one thing exclusively.