After several years of public and political debate, Indiana's General Assembly adopted House Bill 1237 on Sunday, April 29, 2007. The Bill states that all occupants of passenger vehicles, including pickup trucks, are required to buckle up in all seating positions.

Currently, state law does not require backseat passengers over the age of 16 to buckle up nor does it require occupants in pickup trucks, or those in vehicles registered as trucks to wear their seatbelts. Governor Daniels signed the law on May 10 and will become effective July 1, 2007.

We are thrilled that Indiana law makers recognized the value of this important piece of legislation. Once enacted, the law will help to decrease injuries and fatalities on Indiana's roadways, said Mike Cunegin, executive director of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).
Indiana was one of just two states with a truck registration exemption, and we are proud to leave
Georgia as the only primary seat belt law state with the exemption beginning July 1st.

Of the 897 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in Indiana during 2006, approximately 46% were known to be unrestrained at the time of their crash. The Governor's Council on Impaired & Dangerous driving, a division of ICJI, estimates that potentially 269 lives would have been saved if those killed would have been wearing their safety belts.

It doesn't matter what type of car you ride in or where you are sitting, you are still vulnerable in a crash, said Ryan Klitzsch, Traffic Safety division director of ICJI. A seat belt is the most effective way of saving your life and others.