Fact- Seatbelt Laws are Racist and un-American

Black drivers are both pulled over and ticketed in far greater numbers than white drivers for not wearing a seatbelt. This is a fact, and one that is not accounted for by saying black people are just less likely to buckle up (they aren't). The bits of reporting on seatbelt enforcement we do have show a shocking trend. For years, black people would colloquially tell of police officers targeting them in a disproportionately higher number than whites. Often using "pretextual laws"- victimless crime laws that give police a reason to initiate contact and harass an otherwise law abiding citizen. One of the earliest representations of this phenomenon the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Episode Mistaken Identity (1990) where Will and Carlton are pulled over and falsely accused by a white police officer of stealing a car, resulting in them being taken to jail where the police extract a false confession out of them.

Our study of seatbelt enforcement by race takes us to Florida, the state with some of the most comprehensive public reporting requirements of crimes in the Nation- known as Sunshine laws.

In 2014, Black drivers made up 13.5% of Florida's driving population, but received 22% of all seatbelt citations. This means black motorists were ticketed at almost double the rate of their white counterparts. Certain counties in Florida had even higher rates of targeting blacks. In Escambia County black drivers were four times as likely to be stopped and cited for seatbelt infractions. Palm Beach County had a rate of seatbelt enforcement three times higher for black drivers, and Orange County had a number 2.8 times higher for blacks. 

While it might be a knee-jerk reaction to say that black people are just less likely to buckle up, unfortunately that is not the case. In 2014 (the same year we have for these seatbelt statistics) seatbelt use by black people was 86% compared to white drivers at 91%. While seatbelt use by black drivers was 5% lower, for the root cause of the disparity to be based on black people not buckling up, that percentage difference would need to be at 50% or higher. Clearly something else is at play here. 

Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies in Florida have been gradually reducing compliance in reporting.  2007 saw 293 police agencies reporting seatbelt infraction data, but by 2014 the number of reporting agencies had dropped to 147. Could certain agencies be trying to hide racist enforcement of seatbelt laws? 

Seatbelt laws are a form of Pretextual Law- A law that has no direct victim but allows for police to legally initiate contact, detain and question and individual and potentially discover more crimes. The problem with pretextual laws is they lead to an increase in police harassment of individuals that are not interfering with anyone else's life, liberty or pursuit of happiness- and in turn have their own pursuit of happiness infringed upon. While often times having good intentions, these laws bring us closer to living in a police state. One where more and more otherwise unharmful actions are deemed unlawful and used to harass otherwise law abiding citizens. 

America in the founding days had a spirit of Liberty to it. People regarded the job of the government as minimal. The idea that something should be made criminal that is not hurting anyone but the offender is a fairly modern idea. And because this effect has been slow and over a long period of time, we don't really sense it is happening- Like the "boiling frog" effect.  

If you continue to pass more laws and outlaw more activities, eventually everything becomes illegal. Historically, the reset for laws to be erased was war. But, with the absence of a major external threat for the past 80 years, the United States is edging further down the path of having virtually all activities being possibly construed as violating some Federal, State, County or local municipality ordinance. Arguing with a police man too loud? you are now "disturbing the peace". 

Change in thinking is needed, otherwise we all need to get real comfortable with living in a police state, hearing the phrase "papers, please" when you go out for an evening drive.

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source for seatbelt statistics- www.aclu.org/publications/racial-disparities-florida-safety-belt-law-enforcement