“Primary Seat Belt Law”

On a more positive note, ACLU vigilance thwarted a last-minute effort by the State Police and the Department of Transportation to obtain passage of their bill making seat belt violations a primary offense. The ACLU, the Urban League of R.I. and other civil rights groups have strongly opposed this effort, arguing that allowing police to pull over suspected seat belt violators will only increase the extent of racial profiling occurring in Rhode Island. When the bill was posted for a committee vote in the late-night hours at the very end of the session, the ACLU advised Representative Joseph Almeida, the House Minority Caucus chair, who persuaded legislative leaders to withdraw the proposed vote.