American Notes Seat

Twenty-six states have passed mandatory seat-belt laws, but in two of them voters this year decided they would like the liberty to unlatch. Late tallies disclosed last week that on Election Day Nebraska repealed its seat-belt law by as few as 720 votes, out of more than 500,000 cast. Massachusetts voters also unsnapped their seat-belt requirement, by a 53%-to-47% vote.

The drivers' revolt won despite expensive pro-seat-belt campaigns supported by automakers, who face a federal mandate to install air bags in cars if two- thirds of the population is not required to buckle up by 1989. Opponents had argued that seat-belt laws interfered with personal liberty. But freedom has its price: with accident claims certain to rise, insurance companies in both states are already threatening hikes in their auto premiums.