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Table 2-4: Key Provisions of Safety Belt Use Laws:
2005
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| Alabama |
7/18/1992 |
Primary |
$25 |
Front |
Designed for
>10 passengers; model year <1965.
Exemptions for medical reasons, rural mail carriers, paper delivery,
and vehicles normally operating in reverse. |
| Alaska |
9/12/1990 |
Primary |
$15 |
All |
School bus,
emergency vehicles, mail or newspaper delivery, non-highway vehicles
generally. |
| Arizona |
1/1/1991 |
Secondary |
$10 |
Front |
Designed for
>10 passengers; model year <1972; rural mail carriers. |
| Arkansas |
7/15/1991 |
Secondary3 |
$25 |
Front |
School, church,
or public bus; model year <1968. |
| California |
1/1/1986 |
Primary |
$20 |
All |
Emergency
vehicles, postal service vehicles, newspaper delivery vehicles. |
| Colorado |
7/1/1987 |
Secondary4 |
$20 |
Front |
Passenger bus,
school bus, ambulance, postal service vehicles, delivery and pickup services. |
| Connecticut |
1/1/1986 |
Primary |
$15 |
Front23 |
Truck or bus
>15,000 lbs; public, emergency, and delivery vehicles; postal service
vehicles; newspaper delivery vehicles. |
| Delaware |
1/1/1992 |
Primary |
$25 |
All |
Postal service
vehicles, tractors, off highway vehicles. |
| District of Columbia |
12/12/1985 |
Primary |
$50 |
All |
Seating >8
people. |
| Florida |
7/1/1986 |
Secondary |
$30 |
Front24 |
School bus
purchased before 1/1/2001; farm tractors, trash trucks, newspaper delivery,
living space RVs, public bus, truck >5,000 lbs. Number of passengers in
pickup truck required to wear seat belt shall not exceed number of installed
front seat belts (extra passengers exempted). |
| Georgia |
9/1/1988 |
Primary |
$15-$25 |
Front24 |
Designed for
>10 passengers; pickup; offroad; vehicles used for frequent stops.
Exemption for pickups applies to passengers 18 and over. |
| Hawaii |
2/16/1985 |
Primary |
$55 |
Front24 |
Bus or school bus
>10,000 lbs; emergency vehicles; taxicabs. Exempts persons unable to use
seat belt when all available seat belt assemblies are in use (in that case,
unsecured children must sit in the back seat. |
| Idaho |
7/1/1986 |
Secondary |
$10 |
All |
>8,000 lbs;
mail carriers; implements of husbandry. |
| Illinois |
7/1/1985 |
Primary |
$25 |
Front |
Emergency
vehicles, vehicles making frequent stops. If driver is under 18, all
passengers under 19 must be restrained. Children >40 lbs may use lap belt
in rear seat if no combination belt is available. |
| Indiana |
7/1/1987 |
Primary |
$25 |
Front25 |
Truck, tractor,
RV, pickup truck, SUV if registered as pickup truck, postal vehicles,
delivery vehicles, taxi, bus, emergency vehicles, antique cars. |
| Iowa |
7/1/1986 |
Primary |
$25 |
Front18 |
Delivery vehicles
that do not exceed 25 mph between stops; emergency vehicles; postal vehicles. |
| Kansas |
7/1/1986 |
Secondary |
$10 |
Front26 |
Designed for
>10 people; truck >12,000 lbs; off-road vehicles, postal vehicles,
newspaper delivery vehicles. |
| Kentucky |
7/13/1994 |
Primary5 |
$25 |
All |
Designed for
>10 people; truck >12,000 lbs; farm trucks 2,000 lbs or more; postal
vehicles. Safety belt roadblocks prohibited. No points on driving record for
belt violations. |
| Louisiana |
7/1/1986 |
Primary |
$25 |
Front |
Designed for
>10 people; utility vehicles traveling <20 mph; model year <1981;
postal vehicles; farm vehicles; persons delivering newspapers. |
| Maine |
12/27/1995 |
Secondary |
$25-$50 |
All |
Manufactured
without safety belts; postal vehicles. Everyone in school bus equipped with
safety belts must use them. |
| Maryland |
7/1/1986 |
Primary |
$25 |
Front |
Historic vehicle;
for-hire vehicles; farm vehicles within 10 miles of farm; vanpool vehicles;
ambulances; funeral limousines; modified vehicles 25+ years old. |
| Massachusetts |
2/1/1994 |
Secondary |
$25 |
All |
Truck >18,000
lbs; buses and taxis; emergency vehicles; postal vehicles. |
| Michigan |
7/1/1985 |
Primary |
$25 |
Front23 |
Taxi, bus, school
bus, postal service vehicles, commercial vehicles making frequent stops. |
| Minnesota |
8/1/1986 |
Secondary |
$25 |
Front27 |
Farm pickup
truck, postal vehicles, commercial vehicles making frequent stops if not
exceeding 25 mph between stops. |
| Mississippi |
3/20/1990 |
Secondary |
$25 |
Front23 |
Farm vehicle,
bus, postal vehicles, utlity meter readers' vehicles, all-terrain vehicles,
vehicles designed for >15 people. |
| Missouri |
9/28/1985 |
Secondary6 |
$10 |
Front23 |
Designed for
>10 people; truck >12,000 lbs; postal workers; vehicle being used for
agriculture |
| Montana |
10/1/1987 |
Secondary7 |
$20 |
All |
Vehicles making
frequent stops if exemption obtained from state; construction vehicles. |
| Nebraska |
1/1/1993 |
Secondary |
$25 |
Front23 |
Model year
<1973; farm tractors and other agricultural equipment; buses, postal
vehicles, ambulance or rescue service vehicles. |
| Nevada |
7/1/1987 |
Secondary |
$25 |
All |
Taxi, bus, school
bus, postal service vehicles, emergency vehicles, delivery vehicles not
exceeding 15 mph; any vehicle or seating position if the state determines
compliance is impractical. |
| New Hampshire |
None |
No adult law |
$25 |
All29 |
School bus,
vehicle for hire; model year <1968, antique cars, vehicles in paradge
traveling at 10 mph or less. |
| New Jersey |
3/1/1985 |
Primary |
$20 |
Front24 |
Manufactured
before 1966; rural letter carriers. |
| New Mexico |
1/1/1986 |
Primary |
$25 |
All |
Vehicles
>10,000 lbs; rural letter carriers. |
| New York |
12/1/1984 |
Primary |
$50-$100 |
Front23 |
Bus, school bus35, taxi, emergency
vehicle, rural letter carriers |
| North Carolina |
10/1/1985 |
Primary |
$25 |
Front |
Designed for
>11 people; farm vehicles, postal vehicles, designated commercial
vehicles, emergency vehicles. If no lap and shoulder belt, children 40-80 lbs
may be in lap belt. |
| North Dakota |
7/14/1994 |
Secondary8 |
$20 |
Front16 |
Designed for
>10 people; farm vehicles, rural mail carriers. When all seats or all
front seat safety belts are used by other occupants. |
| Ohio |
5/6/1986 |
Secondary |
$30 |
Front |
Postal service
vehicles; vehicles delivering newspapers. |
| Oklahoma |
2/1/1987 |
Primary |
$20 |
Front30 |
Farm vehicle,
truck, truck tractor, RV, postal service vehicles; trash trucks, emergency
vehicles, taxicab operators. |
| Oregon |
12/7/1990 |
Primary |
$75 |
All |
Newspaper, mail,
meter, and transit vehicles; for-hire vehicles; trash trucks, emergency
vehicles, taxicab operators. |
| Pennsylvania |
11/23/1987 |
Secondary9 |
$10 |
Front16 |
Truck >7,000
lbs, rural letter carriers, delivery vehicles traveling at 15 mph or less. |
| Rhode Island |
6/18/1991 |
Secondary10 |
$75 |
All |
Postal service
vehicles. |
| South Carolina |
7/1/1989 |
Primary11 |
$25 |
All |
Emergency
Vehicles, buses, postal service vehicles, delivery vehicles, vehicles
varrying >10 passengers, parage vehicles; vehicles in which all seating
positions with safety belts are already occupied; persons occupying rear
seat, unless the vehicle is equipped with shoulder harness. |
| South Dakota |
1/1/1995 |
Secondary8 |
$20 |
Front24 |
Passenger bus,
school bus, rural mail carriers, newspaper or periodical deliveries. |
| Tennessee |
4/21/1986 |
Primary |
$10 |
Front23, 31 |
>8,500 lbs,
rural letter carriers, utlity workers, newspaper delivery; vehicles in
parades, hayrides, or crossing a highway from one field to another if
operated at <15 mph. |
| Texas |
9/1/1985 |
Primary |
$25-$50 |
Front32, 33 |
Designed for
>10 people, truck over 15,000 lbs, farm vehicles, postal service vehicles,
meter readers. |
| Utah |
4/28/1986 |
Secondary12 |
$45 |
All |
Passengers
exempted if all seats occupied or if riding in seating positions not equipped
with safety belts. |
| Vermont |
1/1/1994 |
Secondary |
$25 |
All |
Bus, taxi, rural
mail carriers, delivery vehicles traveling at 15 mph or less, emergency
vehicles, farm tractors. |
| Virginia |
1/1/1988 |
Secondary |
$25 |
Front23 |
Designed for
>10 people, taxi, police vehicles, rural mail carriers, newspaper
delivery, utility meter readers, commercial vehicles making frequent stops. |
| Washington |
6/11/1986 |
Primary |
$35 |
All |
Designed for
>10 people; when all designated seating positions are occupied; vehicles
exempted by state regulation, including farm, construction, or commercial
vehicles making frequent stops. |
| West Virginia |
9/1/1993 |
Secondary |
$25 |
Front32 |
Designed for
>10 people, rural mail carriers. |
| Wisconsin |
12/1/1987 |
Secondary |
$10 |
All33 |
Taxi, farm trucks
engaged in farming, emergency vehicles required to make more than 10 stops
per mile, rural mail carriers, land surveyors. |
| Wyoming |
6/8/1989 |
Secondary4 |
$25 |
All |
Postal vehicles,
emergency vehicles, buses. Excess passengers exempted if all seats are
occupied. |
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; 3If a motorist is wearing a safety belt when stopped for
another violation, the fine for that violation is reduced by $10; 4Primary enforcement
for all positions if driver is under 17 years of age; 5Primary enforcement
begins 1/1/07; until then, "courtesy notices" will be given as part
of educational phase; 6Primary for children under 16 years of age; 7Primary for children
<16 years of age; 8Primary enforcement for all positions if occupant is under 18
years of age; 9Thefine is $10, but with court, EMS, judicial, and computer
costs the ticket total is $51.50; 10Primary enforcement for drivers and occupants <18 years of
age; 11Safety
belt law may not be enforced by checkpoints designed for that purpose. Law
does not apply to an occupant if all belts in the vehicle are used by other
occupants; 12Primary enforcement for all positions if occupant is under 19
years of age; 13Plus 2 points on license; 14Plus costs; 15$25 for first offence, $50 for second offense, $50 plus court
costs for third offense; 16Plus 3 points on license if the violation involves a child
under 16 years of age. Front seat
passengers 16 and older can be fined up to $50 and drivers can be fined up to
$100 for each passenger under 16 not wearing a seat belt; 17On July 1, 2007,
the fine for a rear seat passenger will be $10 and no court costs, with
secondary enforcement of violations occurring in the rear seat; 18$30 driver, $20
passenger; 19Drivers 18 years of age and older pay $10 if they do not
contest the citation; drivers 16-17 years pay $20; $50 if unsuccessfully
contested in court; 20Reduced to $15 upon completion of class; 21The fine for
drivers is $25; the fine for passengers >12 years of age is $10; 22Fine for driver is
$25, fine for passengers over 12 years is $10; 23All seats for under 16; 24All seats for under 18; 25All seats for under 12; 26All seats under 14; 27All seats for under 11; 28All seats for under 8; 29Under 18 only (primary law); 30All seats under 13; 31Drivers 16 or 17
years of age must wear a safety belt. Drivers cannot be fined for failure of
a passenger >16 years to wear a safety belt; 32All seats under 17; 33Safety belt requirement does not apply to passengers
occupying seating positions without safety belts; 33Rear seat occupants
must wear safety belt at any position where a shoulder harness is installed; 34Most states exempt
vehicles not manufactured with seatbelts; 35School buses sold in the state must be equipped with seat
belts. Board of Education, via regulations, may provide that on school buses
under its jurisdiction, safety belts be used when vehicle is in operation.
KEY: NA = not applicable; RV =
recreational vehicle.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts 2005 Early Edition, Washington, DC: 2006, available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/TSF2005EE.PDF as of Nov. 30, 2006.
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