Oklahoma House Panel Advances Tougher Seatbelt Law

An Oklahoma House committee has approved legislation that would require passengers in the back seat of vehicles to wear seatbelts.

The House Public Safety Committee voted 7-5 for the measure Wednesday and sent it to the full House for a vote.

The bill would expand existing requirements that the operators of vehicles and their front seat passengers be restrained by seatbelts to include all passengers, including those in the back seat.

The measure’s author, Democratic Rep. Jeannie McDaniel of Tulsa, says state law already requires that children 13 and under wear seatbelts or ride in a specially made safety seat regardless of where they are seated in a vehicle. McDaniel says 29 other states have similar requirements for adult passengers.