President Clinton yesterday issued an executive order requiring all federal employees to fasten their seat belts when they are in a car on government business.
All passengers must buckle up, no matter where they are sitting in a vehicle.
"Each federal employee occupying any seating position of a motor vehicle on official business, whose seat is equipped with a seat belt, shall have the seat belt properly fastened at all times when the vehicle is in motion," the order says.
Clinton also ordered all national parks and Defense Department installations to require everyone traveling within their boundaries to wear a seat belt. Federal agencies must encourage contractors and grant recipients to enforce seat belt use as well. Clinton even asked tribal governments to promote his seat belt policy in their territories.
The Clinton administration is preparing legislation to toughen seat belt laws nationwide. The legislation, one of the proposals for the rewrite of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, would cut federal highway aid to states that don't allow police to pull over drivers because their seat belts are not buckled. Police in many states only ticket unbuckled drivers if they are pulled over for another reason.
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