No buckle-up for pickups, only in Georgia

Georgia is now the only state that does not make pickup truck drivers buckle up. It gained that status when Indiana enacted a stiffer law this month requiring all drivers and passengers to wear seat belts.

Sen. Don Thomas (R-Dalton), who is also a physician, pushed a bill through the state Senate to end Georgia’s exemption for pickup truck drivers. It passed the Senate, but now sits in a House committee.

Thomas thinks other lawmakers don’t want to appear as though they’re telling people what to do.

“I respect that view," said Thomas,"but something so important, all those injuries that could be prevented, that should override this feeling of personal responsibility.”

Thomas said he’ll try to pass the bill again in January.

There’s a bonus if the bill were to become law: Georgia would qualify for more than 20 million dollars in federal transportation funds.

In 2005, more than 600 people were killed or injured because they weren’t buckled into their pickups.