It was a year ago this month that I made two trips to South Carolina, first to Graniteville for the train derailment and then to testify in support of the primary seat belt law. It is wonderful to be back here in Columbia, for this occasion to celebrate South Carolina becoming the 22 nd State to authorize primary enforcement of its seat belt law. I am pleased to represent the National Transportation Safety Board and join Meharry Medical College and State Farm Insurance, at this recognition ceremony. Meharry and State Farm have been good and steadfast friends in our efforts to improve highway safety here in South Carolina and across the country.

While aviation and rail accidents receive a lot of media attention, ninety percent of our transportation fatalities occur on the nation’s highways. The Safety Board makes scores of recommendations to improve safety in all modes, but passing a primary seat belt law saves more lives than any other recommendation on our list of Most Wanted Safety Improvements. Seat belts are our number one defense against injury and death when a motor vehicle crash occurs! And primary enforcement laws increase seat belt use. In this last year, during the debate and enactment of your primary enforcement law, South Carolina’s observed belt use rate rose 4 percentage points. According to calculations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that increase translates into more than 20 lives saved, more than 400 injuries avoided, and more than $50 million saved! South Carolina’s new primary enforcement seat belt law, in conjunction with strong enforcement, will likely result in further safety improvements.

It has often been said that success has many fathers and failure is an orphan. Well, today I look around the room and I see many proud parents. There were many people that worked together to advance the primary seat belt legislation. First, I want to extend my appreciation to Mr. Max Young and Ms. Terecia Wilson from the South Carolina Departments of Public Safety and Transportation for their tireless efforts walking the halls and making sure the legislators has the facts they needed to pass the legislation. I also want to acknowledge Mr. John Monk from “The State” newspaper, whose persuasive articles kept this issue alive and helped convince many of the importance of primary enforcement. I also see Don and his “safety chicks” in the audience, their commitment to the bill made a difference. Finally, a special thank you to the Members of South Carolina’s Legislative Black Caucus for working with our award recipients to support this law by addressing issues of differential enforcement thereby ensuring that primary enforcement is used for its one and only purpose, improving highway safety.

On very rare occasions, the Safety Board has identified legislators whose courage and dedication have been instrumental in the passage of highway safety improvements. In recognition of their efforts above and beyond the call of duty, the Safety Board has given these legislators a “State Safety Leadership Award.” To date, we have recognized legislators in only three other States, Illinois, North Carolina, and Virginia and today we recognize South Carolina.

In conjunction with the Safety Belt Champion Award from Meharry Medical College and State Farm Insurance, I will be presenting our honorees, Senators Jackson, Lourie, and Ryberg and Representatives Owens and Townsend, with the Safety Board’s “State Safety Leadership Award.”

For Your Initiative and Outstanding Leadership in Promoting and Adopting Laws To Require Safety Belt Use By All Drivers and Motor Vehicle Occupants in South Carolina.

Your long standing commitment to highway safety, your political leadership and successful passage of this law are examples that we hope other legislators across the country will follow. Thank you for making a difference in South Carolina.