Pickup drivers must buckle up

Pickup truck drivers have to wear seatbelts just like other drivers now, or face a ticket.

Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday announced he had signed SB 458, which removes an exemption from the seatbelt law for pickup truck drivers. Safety advocates say the exemption has cost Georgia lives and dollars.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety estimates that the bill will save 100 lives a year, said Bob Dallas, the office’s director. In addition, having a complete seatbelt law might have won Georgia nearly $2 million in federal incentive money, Dallas said. Georgia has in the past won about $20 million for having a high level of seat belt usage during “Click It Or Ticket” seat belt enforcement drives.

The law still allows farmers to go unbelted in their pickups if they're performing their regular agricultural work.

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