ATLANTA — With Tuesday’s House passage of Senate Bill 458, Georgians should see fewer traffic fatalities and injuries in the months and years ahead. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Don Thomas, eliminates the current exemption from Georgia’s safety-belt law for occupants of pickups. Georgia is the only state that exempts pickups from its safety-belt law.
In the House, Speaker David Ralston, Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, Maj. Leader Jerry Keen, Reps. Kevin Levitias and Mary Margaret Oliver and House HHS Chairwoman Sharon Cooper supported the legislation and helped move it along. Rep. Mickey Channell sponsored it.
In the Senate, support from Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Pres. Pro Tempore Tommie Williams and Senate Public Safety Chairman Jack Murphy was key to the bill’s passage.
“With the governor’s signature, the action completed today by the Georgia General Assembly will make for a safer future for all who travel upon Georgia’s roadways,” said Kevin Bakewell, senior vice president of AAA Auto Club South. “We thank all of the bill sponsors as well as House and Senate leadership, and send our special congratulations to Sen. Thomas, who is retiring this year and has worked so long and hard to remove the pickup-truck exemption from Georgia’s safety-belt law.”