Back Seat Passengers Must Wear Seat Belts
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a bill that will require all back seat passengers to wear seat belts--with the exception of those riding in cabs.
Quinn said Illinois had fewer than 1,000 traffic deaths in each of the past two years a first since 1921.
And, he said, its because of seat belt laws, which have no gotten tougher.
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Quinn noted that the July 4 holiday is coming up.
"When I was growing up," Quinn said, "They used to keep a sad statistic indeed of how many people died in that three or four day weekend, and we want to not have that kind of statistic, we want to save lives."
Senate President John Cullerton says requiring seat belts for back seat passengers will do just that.
"I would anticipate we'll save at least 25 to 30 lives," Cullerton said.
Police will be able to pull over a vehicle if the backseat passengers aren't wearing seat belts.
The law takes effect the first of next year.
