State Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and leaders in law enforcement and medicine in Arkansas have thrown their support behind making seat-belt non-use a primary offense -- meaning an officer could stop a vehicle only because the driver was observed not using a seat belt.
As things stand now, seat belt non-use is not an offense that can justify a traffic stop on its own. An officer can issue a citation for the offense, but only if a vehicle has been stopped for some other reason.