During a long bike ride yesterday, I noticed several road signs calling attention to a fine of $101 for driving without a seat belt. I’d noticed these signs before, but while traveling at the glacial pace my winter legs permitted, I read them a lot more than once ;-)

Upon passing of House Bill 1460, Washington’s mandatory seat belt law became a ‘primary law,’ meaning a driver can be pulled over and ticketed for not complying. (An example of a secondary law would be talking on a cell phone. If you’re pulled over for speeding, you’ll receive an additional ticket for $101.) To reinforce the point, over 650 road signs[7] have been erected. These, a media campaign and amount of the fine are credited with driving up the seat belt use rate in the state. As of last year, it was estimated 95% on all drivers in the state wore seat belts[1]. The obvious benefit is a decline in vehicle fatalities. By 2004, the number was down to 569, the lowest since 1961.[6]

To measure the effectiveness of this being a primary law, Salzberg and Moffat[2] observed drivers’ seat belt usage at eight sites in five cities in each of Washington and Idaho — Idaho’s seat belt law is secondary and a smaller fine. They found that Idaho car drivers in Idaho cities wore seat belts about 84% of the time. However, when those drivers visited Washington cities, the use rate increased to 94%, suggesting the Washington campaign was effective. Interestingly, Washington state drivers visited Idaho tended to continue using their seat belts.

I have been unable to answer the question “why $101?” For any given fine, a base penalty is set by the Washington State Supreme Court, with statutory assessments determined by the State Legislature[5]. I read the court’s schedule[4], but was unable to find it called out. Typically, unlisted things are $37 per violation. I have asked the Washington State Library reference staff for pointers.

Sources