The Tennessee Highway Patrol has increased the fine drivers could face if they don’t buckle up.
The increased fines will begin in January. A first offense will be $25, and second or subsequent offenses will be $50.
"The fine does not go to the Department of Safety. We're not making any money off this law change. It goes into the general fund and for vocational rehab just where it always has. So we don't see any financial benefit,” said Col. Tracy Trott with the THP. “We do it for one purpose: to have people buckle up and save their life."
There have been a number of campaigns aimed at getting drivers to buckle up throughout the years, but officers said more needed to be done.
So far this year, 307 people have died on Tennessee roads because they chose not to wear their seatbelt.
