Seat belt law clicks into effect June 30

Scrolling through the newsfeed on my Facebook profile sometime in May, I noticed a common thread among the status updates posted by my 18-year-old daughter and her friends.

"We did it! They passed the seat belt law!"

"The governor is going to sign Katie's law!"

The posts referred to a bill signed into law in May by Gov. Charlie Crist. The Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law, which goes into effect Tuesday, requires all drivers and front seat passengers in a moving vehicle to wear a safety belt. Police previously could ticket an unbelted driver only when the motorist was stopped for another infraction.

Valrico residents Laura and Vincent Marchetti launched a grassroots campaign to pass the bill after their daughter Katie, a Durant High School student, died in a crash in March 2006 while not wearing a seatbelt. Dozens of the teen's friends rallied around the Marchettis by travelling to Tallahassee to lobby lawmakers and organizing local events and fundraisers to spread the word about their cause.

The bill also represents the work of former state Rep. Irv Slosberg, who lost his 14-year-old daughter Dori in a 1996 crash near Boca Raton. Four other teens died in the accident. None was wearing a seatbelt.

The law is expected to generate millions of dollars in federal money for statewide transportation projects and save millions more in health costs. Fines and fees for violators total $101.

For the families and friends of Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti, the new legislation is a priceless tribute and a reminder for drivers of all ages to buckle up.

For information about traffic safety, teen driver tips or safety belt usage, call the Hillsborough County

Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Bureau at (813) 247-8115 or go to www.hcso
.tampa.fl.us.

Causeway tracks closed
Causeway Boulevard west of Brandon remains closed at the railroad tracks east of U.S. 41 while CSX upgrades the rails and the Florida Department of Transportation widens and improves the road.

Causeway will be open to local traffic up to the work area, but motorists will not be able to cross the tracks. Traffic will be detoured at Maydell Drive and U.S. 41/50th Street for about another week. For information, call Carson at (813) 975-6060.