For the next two weeks, law enforcement agencies might be writing tcikets for not wearing your seatblet if you’re caught doing something else. But there’ll be no tickets for just not wearing a seat belt in Missouri. Lawmakers failed to pass a primary seat belt law in this state. The Transportation Department’s Bill Whitfield says the long-term goal of the “Click It or Ticket” program is to increase seat belt usage by 20 percentage points from about 75 percent compliance now to 95 percent. However, Whitfield does admit the failure by the legislature this year to make not wearing a seat belt a primary offense is a bit disappointing. He says he cannot affect what the Legislature does, only the effort his agency puts forth.
