Driving without a seat belt fastened is a quick way to get pulled over in South Carolina and Georgia.
Still, a new federal study shows that law enforcement officers can be just as lax about buckling up: At least 42 percent of U.S. police officers killed in wrecks over the past 28 years weren't restrained, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports.
Ironically, experts say, it's a safety issue that sometimes leads officers to forgo their seat belts.
"For the largest part, it's a matter of functionality," said Steve Groeninger, the director of communications for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. "Officers are resistant because they feel it will interfere with ... their ability to get in and out of a cruiser."
Law enforcement agencies in Richmond and Columbia counties and in North Augusta have mandatory seat-belt policies for their officers, but the brass does sympathize to a certain degree with situations their officers face every day.
It's expected that a deputy will wear a seat belt in normal situations such as driving to a call for service or patrolling a busy highway, said Richmond County sheriff's Col. Gary Powell. But if a high-speed pursuit is winding down and a suspect looks as though he's about to bail out of the car, deputies usually will start unbuckling.
"That just makes sense," Powell said.
Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris gave similar examples for when seat belts might be exempted: the end of a pursuit, and during neighborhood patrols that are less than 15 mph.
"We encourage deputies at all times to wear seat belts, but there are times and circumstances when it's not required," he said.
Over the past decade, traffic accidents have been a major cause of deaths among law enforcement officers, usually second to gunfire, but some years higher. The NHTSA's study examined 733 fatal police vehicle crashes from 1980 through 2008 -- not including motorcycles -- and found more than 40 percent of the officers weren't restrained.
Georgia had the third-highest number of fatal wrecks for law enforcement officers in the United States, 43.
There have been two local traffic-related deaths in the past five years, both in 2007. Richmond County Deputy Eric Sikes was killed that March, and McDuffie County Deputy Jerome Jackson three months later. Officials at both agencies said the deputies were wearing seat belts at the time of their wrecks.
Frank V. Rotondo, the executive director of the Georgia Association of Police Chiefs, understands how officers could feel trapped in their cars. A utility belt can be cumbersome when it's loaded with a Taser, pepper spray, handcuffs and pistol, he said. Moreover, today's cruisers are cramped with equipment and a laptop.
The mentality among officers is not that they are above the law but that they better serve the public without the restraint, he said.
The problem is that "they are ultimately hurting themselves when they try to protect the public without seat belts," Rotondo said.
Lt. Tim Pearson, of North Augusta Public Safety, said it's a violation of department and city policy to not wear seat belts. It's also a safety issue.
"We already have a dangerous type of job," he said. "We give ourselves every chance to go home at the end of a shift."
buckle up offica? around here you're lucky if they maintain their lane. i think its too much to ask of them to use their blinkers, they dont get paid enough. i give the black and the silver wide berth whenever I see one of em
Yeah, they speed. But do you know for sure if they are speeding just to speed, or are they going to a call? Listen to a scanner. They road patrol is stretched thin. They gotta do more with less.
Not only do they not buckle up, they don't signal to turn, obey the speed limit and most of the time are on the cell phone. I have wrote the Chronicle before but nothing ever printed. It seems that they think they are above the law but are always protected.
Of course they are above the law because allot of them think they are God! But I always believe what goes around comes around for those arrogant ones! I know their are some genuine police officers they are just hard to find these days.
@Benny
Richmond county does act like they are above the law. Maybe if the cops obeyed the laws we pay them to enforce the regular public might start obeying them too. I mean if the cops don't follow the rules why does anyone else have to right?
Funny how some call the newspaper to complain. Have you tried calling the Sheriff? Or the officer's supervisor? Or do you come to an anonymous forum and complain, thinking that something will be done? Are there bad officers? Yes! Are the majority doing their job in a professional manner? Absolutely! But, if you complain here, or to your friends, instead of filing a complaint, do you really think anything can be done to rectify the situation? Every patrol car in Richmond and Columbia County has a number on the bumper. If you feel that strongly about the behavior of a particular deputy, why don't you call and complain? I know, the answer is, "nothing will happen"..you don't know that. And, when you get stopped by an officer, you have the benefit of due process. Deputy's, for the most part, don't. Rather than complain here, call the agency and let them deal with the officer.
It appears to me it's the law and may save officers' lives from the article. No local agency has the legal right to exempt their officers from the law yet we have it in print that some do.
Riverman1, Public Safety workers to include members of the Sheriff's Office, etc. in Georgia are specifically exempt from the seatbelt laws and texting laws.
Personally, I belive all police, fire, rescue, etc. should wear their seatbelts as much as possible. However, legally they don't have to and each department can set their own policies based on their own needs.
A cop driving through a neighborhood looking for an armed criminal certainly would not want to have his seatbelt on. Many officers take it off prior to initiating a traffic stop so as not to interfere with reaching for their weapon should the need arise, etc. Anyways, the above along with many other reasons are why they are exempt. As for the texting laws, they are exempt since at times the calls come over their computer screens.
Yes, by all means cops should obey the laws set forth for others. They are highly visible, on the road 24/7 and have many eyes upon them looking for them to do something wrong so as to complain. Most could care less if they are on a call or not they simply look towards authority as to see anything and everything they are doing wrong. This isn't just with cops, it is with our bosses, leaders, politicians, etc. now days.
GA law clearly states that government vehicles are exempt from the seatbelt law.
Unless you've ever been a law enforcement officer, don't judge them. It's a terrible job with bad hours and low pay. You deal with miserable people everyday. The ones you are sworn to protect are the first ones to complain about you, even though you put your life on the line for them.
I wish every one of you that posted a complaint about officers on here, would try it for one year. It would change your life.
It did mine for sure!
Okay, thanks, guys. I learned something about the seatbelt law and government workers.
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