1/1/2012
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill June 27, 2011 requiring all backseat passengers to wear a seatbelt. Before this seemingly common sense law, backseat passengers 18 years or older were not required to wear a seatbelt.
But the law still exempts riders in buses, emergency vehicles and those in the backseat of taxis. Illinois Senate President John Cullerton sponsored the bill with the late GOP Rep. Mark Beaubien.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White commented on the need for back seat passengers to be restrained, “If by chance they are not buckled up, then of course they could become a human missile for those in the front of the vehicle.”
If a passenger vehicle is pulled over and the backseat passenger(s) does not have a seatbelt on the driver will be fined $25 per incident.