Florida to strictly enforce seatbelt law

Drivers in Florida can be stopped if they or their front-seat passenger are not wearing their seat-belts, under a bill signed into law Wednesday by Governor Charlie Crist.

The law takes effect on June 30 this year, and makes the state eligible for up to $35 million in federal grants.

Congress created the grant program in 2005 as an incentive for states to make seat belt laws a primary offense. Statistics show that drivers are 13 percent more likely to wear a safety belt if they can be pulled over for not buckling up.

Known as the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Law, after two girls who died in separate car accidents and had not buckled their seat belts, the change received crucial support from members of the black community. Earlier, African-American lawmakers opposed the law, saying it would make racial profiling easier.

Republicans had opposed the change for years, saying it was an expansion of government.

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