BTS | Table 2-3. Key Provisions of Safety Belt Use Laws: 2000

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BTS Home > Publications > State Transportation Statistics > Vermont

Table 2-3. Key Provisions of Safety Belt Use Laws: 2000

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State	Effective¹	Enforcement²	Fine	Seats	Vehicles exempted³
Alabama	7/18/92	Primary	$25	Front	Designed for more than 10 passengers
Alaska	9/12/90	Secondary	$15	All	School bus
Arizona	1/1/91	Secondary	$10	Front	Designed for more than 10 passengers; model year before 1972
Arkansas	7/15/91	Secondary	$25⁴	Front	School bus, church bus, public bus
California	1/1/86	Primary	$20⁵	All	None
Colorado	7/1/87	Secondary	$15	Front	Passenger bus, school bus
Connecticut	1/1/86	Primary	$15	Front	Truck or bus over 15,000 lbs.
Delaware	1/1/92	Secondary	$20	Front	None
District of Columbia	12/12/85	Primary	$50⁶	All	Seating more than 8 people
Florida	7/1/86	Secondary	$30	Front	School bus, public bus, truck over 5,000 lbs.
Georgia	9/1/88	Primary	$15	Front	Designed for more than 10 passengers, pickup
Hawaii	2/16/85	Primary	$45	Front	Bus or school bus over 10,000 lbs.
Idaho	7/1/86	Secondary	$5	Front	Over 8,000 lbs.
Illinois	7/1/85	Secondary	$25	Front	None
Indiana	7/1/87	Primary	$25	Front	Truck, tractor, RV
Iowa	7/1/86	Primary	$10	Front	None
Kansas	7/1/86	Secondary	$10	Front	Designed for more than 10 people, truck over 12,000 lbs.
Kentucky	7/13/94	Secondary	$25	All	Designed for more than 10 people
Louisiana	7/1/86	Primary	$25⁷	Front	Manufactured before 1/1/81
Maine	12/27/95	Secondary	$50	All	None
Maryland	7/1/86	Primary	$25	Front	Historic vehicle
Massachusetts	2/1/94	Secondary	$25	All	Truck over 18,000 lbs., bus, taxi
Michigan	7/1/85	Primary	$25	Front	Bus
Minnesota	8/1/86	Secondary	$25	Front	Farm pickup truck
Mississippi	3/20/90	Secondary	$25	Front	Farm vehicle, bus
Missouri	9/28/85	Secondary	$10	Front	Designed for more than 10 people, truck over 12,000 lbs.
Montana	10/1/87	Secondary	$20	All	None
Nebraska	1/1/93	Secondary	$25	Front	Manufactured before 1973
Nevada	7/1/87	Secondary	$25	All	Taxi, bus, school bus
New Hampshire	None	NA	NA	NA	NA
New Jersey	3/1/85	Secondary	$20	Front	None
New Mexico	1/1/86	Primary	$25	Front	Vehicle over 10,000 lbs.
New York	12/1/84	Primary	$50	Front	Bus, school bus, taxi
North Carolina	10/1/85	Primary	$25	Front	Designed for more than 10 people
North Dakota	7/14/94	Secondary	$20	Front	Designed for more than 10 people
Ohio	5/6/86	Secondary	$25	Front	None
Oklahoma	2/1/87	Primary	$20	Front	Farm vehicle, truck, truck tractor, RV
Oregon	12/7/90	Primary	$75	All	None
Pennsylvania	11/23/87	Secondary	$10	Front	Truck over 7,000 lbs.
Rhode Island	6/18/91	Secondary	$50	All	None
South Carolina	7/1/89	Secondary	$10	All	School bus, public bus
South Dakota	1/1/95	Secondary	$20	Front	Bus, school bus
Tennessee	4/21/86	Secondary	$50	Front	Vehicle over 8,500 lbs.
Texas	9/1/85	Primary	$50	Front	Designed for more than 10 people, truck over 15,000 lbs.
Utah	4/28/86	Secondary	$45	Front	Vehicle over 10,000 lbs., school/public bus, taxi
Vermont	1/1/94	Secondary	$10	All	Bus, taxi
Virginia	1/1/88	Secondary	$25	Front	Designed for more than 10 people, taxi
Washington	6/11/86	Secondary	$35	All	Designed for more than 10 people
West Virginia	9/1/93	Secondary	$25	Front	Designed for more than 10 people
Wisconsin	12/1/87	Secondary	$10	All	Taxi, farm truck
Wyoming	6/8/89	Secondary	$25	Front	Designed for more than 10 people, bus

¹Effective date of first belt law in the state;

²Primary enforcement enables police officers to stop vehicles and write citations whenever they observe a violation of the seat belt law. Secondary enforcement allows police officers to write a citation for seat belt infractions only after stopping a vehicle for some other traffic infraction;

³Most states exempt vehicles not manufactured with seat belts;

⁴Plus 3 points on license;

⁵Fine for first offense;

⁶Plus 2 points on license;

⁷Penalty could include 30 days in jail.

KEY: NA = not applicable; RV = recreational vehicle.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts 2000, Washington, DC: 2001, available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSFAnn/TSF2000.pdf as of Jan. 4, 2002.