ACLU: Report Shows Evidence Of Racial Profiling On Florida Roads

The American Civil Liberties Union wants the state of Florida and its counties to launch probes into how seatbelt violations are handed down to motorists.

In a new report released Wednesday, the organization claims that black motorists in Florida are ticketed for seatbelt law violations at nearly twice the pace of white motorists. The report shows in 2014, non-Hispanic blacks were issued seatbelt citations at a rate of 1,821 per 100,000 resident drivers. The rate of citations for non-Hispanic white people was 970 per 100,000 drivers. “As a result, in 2014, law enforcement officers across Florida stopped and cited black motorists for seatbelt violations 1.9 times more often than white motorists,” the report states. Statistics for the analysis came from public records, the ACLU noted.

“These racial disparities raise serious concerns that officers are engaging in racial profiling when enforcing the state’s safety belt law,” Nusrat Choudhury, an attorney with the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program and co-author of Racial Disparities in Florida Safety Belt Law Enforcement, said in a news release.

The ACLU notes state and national studies that indicate blacks and whites wear seatbelts at comparable rates. The organization is calling on the Florida Attorney General’s Office and other government officials to investigate how the seatbelt law is being implemented.

Florida law requires all front seat riders to wear a seatbelt. All passengers under age 18 must wear a seatbelt or be placed in age-appropriate restraints regardless of where in the car they are sitting. The cost for a violation is $30 for standard violations and $60 for improperly restrained children. Seatbelt violations are a primary offense, meaning police officers can pull motorists over based on this violation alone.

To read the ACLU’s report, visit the organization online.

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