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History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Companion bill
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Prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle with children under the age of 8 in the front seat in most cases
In Senate Committee · Transportation · Sponsor Sandy Galef
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S4773
Title of bill
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to prohibiting children under the age of eight from riding as a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle except under limited circumstances
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this legislation is to prohibit a person from operating a motor vehicle with children under the age of 8 in the front seat in most cases.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1229-c of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended to prohibit any person from operating a motor vehicle with a passenger under the age of eight in the front seat.
A child under the age of eight may ride in the front seat if:
1. there are no rear seats;
2. a child safety seat or booster seat cannot be properly installed in the rear seat;
3. all rear seats are already occupied by other occupants; or if
4. medical reasons necessitate the child should not ride in the rear seat.
Justification
Preventable injuries are the number one killer of children (ages 14 and under) across the country. According to the Air Bag Safety Campaign, in the United State an average of 8 children are killed and 932 injured everyday in motor vehicle related crashes,
Experts agree children are safest when buckled up and in the back seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that children are up to 20% safer when riding in the rear seat regardless of whether the vehicle is equipped with a passenger side air ban. Placing children in the back seat provides greater protection for head on collisions, the most serious type of crash, by getting children farther away from the point of impact.
New York State now requires all children up to age 16 to be buckled in both front and roar seats. In addition, children under age 8 must be properly restrained in a car seat or booster seat. We can further improve our child passenger safety standards by requiring young children to sit in the rear seat. This bill allows flexibility for large families and/or parents who may be transporting other children.
Prior legislative history
A.4181-A/A.2238-A - 2009/2010 A.7470/S.281-A - 2007/2008 A.6970-A/S.3980-A - 2005/2006
A.4648/S.6910 - 2003/2004 A.4106/S.2196 - 2001/2002 A.6765 - 1999/2000 A.7561-E/S.6089 - 1997/1998
Fiscal implications
There are no fiscal implications.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law; provided that any person who violates the provisions of subdivision 2-a of section 1229-c of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, as added by section two of this act within the twelve months following such effective date, shall be subject to a warning but shall not be issued an appearance ticket and shall not be liable for a fine.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.