[]Bill drafted to require the use of seatbelts
By Rhealyn C. Pojas Reporter
The House of Delegates passed on first reading a bill that will require the use of seatbelts and child restraint systems in motor vehicles during its fifth regular session on January 31.
The bill, which is also called as the Seat Belt Safety Act, was proposed by the Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) as the result of the alarming rate of people getting injured or killed annually due to vehicular accidents.
[restrict]
The OEK cited that one of the main reasons why vehicular accidents caused so much harm to people is that many do not wear seatbelts while in transit.
“[If] worn properly, seat belts are the best protection against injury in a crash,” the bill’s legislative findings read, adding that seatbelts reduce the possibility of harm from the impact caused by airbags that are inflating in a crash.
The bill seeks to amend Title 42 of the Palau National Code to include a new chapter to the law.
If passed into a law, law enforcers will issue violation citations to violators beginning on January 1, 2024.
Drivers and passengers of motor vehicles will then be required to wear seatbelts unless they are covered by certain exemptions set by the bill.
The proposed amendment will also include the restrictions on the importation of motor vehicles to Palau which do not have safety belts unless they are motorcycles, motor scooters, motor bikes, all-terrain vehicles, construction vehicle, or vehicle manufactured before 1967. [/restrict]