Recent reports show that Idahoans' overall seat-belt use has dropped to barely three out of four, with southeast Idaho lowest at 62 percent. Interestingly, the seat-belt-usage rate in Washington is over 96 percent, while in Oregon it's at 95 percent.
The primary reason for this difference is not that Oregon and Washington travelers are more enlightened, but rather that they will receive stiffer fines than Idahoans will. Being caught "Beltless in Seattle" renders a $124 fine; while Oregon's penalty is $90. However, Idahoans (above 18) only get lightly wrist-slapped for a measly 10 bucks—or the equivalent of a small can of gas.
Of all the safety features added to passenger vehicles in the past 50 years, safety belts account for more than half the lives saved in passenger crashes. If we cannot improve this basic safety routine on our own, perhaps some of us really do need Big Brother's guiding hand to influence us to tighten our belts properly. In this land already lanced by legendary Larry Craig laugh-abouts, more Idahoans should buckle up and stay buckled up, before we become the butt of even crueler thinning-the-herd, Darwin-award-level jokes.
Jim Banholzer
Ketchum