Seat Belt Laws

For the past few years in Arkansas and surrounding states, the State Police have promoted "Click It Or Ticket". This is an automobile safety initiative that lasts for the few weeks surrounding Memorial Day Weekend. What is this program? Why should the police be worried about your driving habits? Here is the information you need to know from the Arkansas State Police. To find out more about national seat belt laws try Buckle Up America, the national "Click It Or Ticket" homepage.

Between 1997 and 1999, twenty-five Arkansas children, ages infant to four years old, who were not buckled into a child restraint system were killed in traffic crashes that occurred on Arkansas streets and highways.

Over 800 children under 4 were injured. Sixty-eight children between the ages of 5 –15, none wearing seat belts, died in Arkansas traffic crashes. Had child safety restraints or seat belts been in place, many of these children could have been saved or escaped without injury.

Arkansas law requires all children under the age of fifteen years who are passengers in a motor vehicle to be buckled-up. Furthermore, children younger than six years of age and weighing less than sixty pounds must be restrained in approved safety seats.

Arkansas is among a group of states that require seat belt use by drivers and front seat passengers. State law requires police to have a reasonable cause other than a seat belt violation to stop a vehicle and cite a violator. However, an unrestrained child in a moving motor vehicle is considered a primary violation allowing police to stop the vehicle without another cause.

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