Buck up or buckle up in the backseat

There's a load of laws coming down the pike next month that will restrict your ability to use the road the way you want to.

Not that that's a bad thing, having seen how some of you drive, but it's wise to get a quick heads-up on the laws.

For instance, the General Assembly has declared that all Virginians 17 years old and younger riding in the back seat MUST wear a seatbelt as of July 1.

Drivers are responsible for making sure the under-age folks are belted in and, should they not be, the driver will pay the $25 fine. Everyone is required to be belted in when riding in the front seat. If you're 18 or older and decide not to belt in when riding in the car, YOU get the ticket not the driver.

The reason for the change? Well, according to the VaDMV, in the three years of 2006, 2007 and 2008, "562 unbelted, back seat passengers ages 16 to 18 were injured from 2006 through 2008 in Virginia, and 22 were killed." That meant that "the average annual cost including health care for the three-year period is estimated to be 20 million dollars," although I don't know exactly what that's supposed to mean, other than the government is always trying to show how expensive a behavior is when they ban it.

Other changes include a confusing change in the DUI law that allows longer suspension and punishment times for convictions and a law that adds driving to and from "a place of religious worship" and "court-ordered child support appointments" to the list of reasons why a court may issue a restricted driver's license.

 School bus drivers drinking and driving their bus while transporting children will now be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, with penalties of  up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 IN ADDITION to DUI conviction penalties.

If you drive without a license and have already been convicted of this offense, you can lose your VEHICLE for three days. However, if the offender gets a valid driver's license during the three-day vehicle impound period, the vehicle will be released to the driver.

Why did the golf cart cross the road? To get to the back nine: The General Assembly approved allowing  carts to cross highways in  towns with a population of 2,000 or less, providing the highway at an intersection is marked as a golf cart crossing with signs.

 The roadway's speed limit must be 35 miles per hour or less, and the crossing has to be the only way the golf cart may travel from one part of the town to another.