Too Many Drivers in Maine Are Breaking This Simple Law, and It’s Costing Them

One of the most stressful and anxious moments in our lives is the day we arrive to take our driver's test. Despite driver's education, studying, and practicing, the driving test represents one of the first real responsible challenges as adolescents began their transition into adulthood.

Fast forward many years later, and if you've forgotten many rules of the road, you wouldn't be alone. Not only that, but some laws evolve and change over the years without any need for a driver's education update.

But there's one law that has been in place for decades now that too many people in Maine aren't following. And to steal a famous ad slogan, "It's so easy, a caveman could do it". But people aren't, and it's costing them their lives.

That law is buckling your seatbelt. Maine currently has about a 93% success rate in drivers and passengers buckling up in vehicles. While that sounds like a high percentage, it's one of the lowest in the entire nation, and has led to an even worse follow-up statistic.

According to Travel A Lot, Maine has one of the highest percentages of vehicle fatalities in the nation where persons were unrestrained. A jaw-dropping 48% of vehicular deaths in Maine involve someone who wasn't wearing their seatbelt.

Thankfully, Maine saw its fewest number of vehicular deaths in nearly a decade in 2023. In fact, last year was one of the safest years on the road in Maine in the last few decades.

Maine passed a law in 1995, requiring individuals to wear seatbelts when in a vehicle. If you're caught without a seatbelt, there's a tiered fine system that starts at $50 per infraction, and escalates up to $250 per infraction.