The number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes this year may be lower than this time a year ago, but the number of people who weren’t wearing their seatbelt is much higher. The South Dakota Department of Public Safety says that so far, out of the 18 fatalities reported from crashes, 15 people were not wearing a seatbelt; a simple safety precaution that could’ve saved their lives. That is an average of 83 percent of victims, up from 60 percent in previous years…
Colonel Craig Price is the Superintendent of the Highway Patrol and says that it is illegal for anyone in the front seat of a vehicle not to wear a seatbelt, regardless of their age…
Price says seatbelt violations are a patrol priority, and officers are looking to make sure that drivers are wearing them in accordance with the state laws.