Buckle Up: New Seat Belt Law Goes Into Effect Jan. 1

Beginning Jan. 1, all vehicle occupants in Illinois - even those in the back seat - will be required to wear a safety belt as part of a recently approved law amending the state's vehicle code.

The idea behind the new safety belt law is safety.

With the new law going into effect Jan. 1, everyone in the vehicle will have to be buckled up, regardless of their age or where they are seated.

Violators may receive a $60 citation.

"It's a change in the law to keep people from being injured or killed," Trooper Brent Massingill, a safety education officer for the District 16 state police said in the Cary News Weekly. 

He said that unbelted occupants, no matter where they are seated, can present a danger to themselves and others during a traffic crash.

"It only takes one person in the car not being buckled up to completely change things," Massingill said.

The new law does not apply to taxi cabs.

Senator John Cullerton, who co-sponsored the safety belt bill, said, many cabs operating in the city aren't even equipped with backseat seatbelts, and without first checking that taxis are properly maintained, you can hardly expect to crack down on people riding in them, according to a report on WGNtv.

For more information on House Bill 219 or traffic safety in general, contact the state police at 815-239-1152.