Provides that no person sixteen years of age or over shall be a passenger in the back seat of a motor vehicle, unless such person is restrained by a safety belt

4 Co-sponsors

• Tony Avella
• Phil Boyle
• David Carlucci
• Timothy M. Kennedy

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to mandatory seat belt use

Purpose or general idea of bill

To improve the safety of motor vehicle occupants.

Summary of specific provisions

The bill amends subdivision 3, 5 & 9 of § 1229-c of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to require the use of seat belts by all passengers sixteen years of age - or older riding, in any seating position in a motor vehicle.

Justification

The institution of a mandatory seat belt law for all front seat passengers has saved lives. According to the New York State Department of Motor. Vehicles, in 1984, the year the law was enacted, approximately 16% of individuals wore seat belts. By 2008, 24 years after the law was enacted, the compliance rate was up to 83%. The Governor's Traffic Safety Committee has indicated that thirty percent of highway deaths in New York State occurred to occupants who were unrestrained. This is a greater factor than alcohol or excessive speed.

Recognizing the serious injuries that may be caused to other passengers or the driver of a motor vehicle by an unrestrained occupant of the vehicle in the event of a collision, 28 states have adopted legislation requiring all rear seat occupants to wear safety restraints.

Extensive research has shown that unbelted rear seat passengers can kill and injure others. A sixty pound unbelted passenger traveling in the rear seat would exert a force of approximately 2,700 pounds, or more than one ton, into the driver's seat in a head-on crash at 30 miles per hour.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in fatal crashes, 76% of vehicle occupants who were totally ejected from the vehicle were killed. In 2007, only once percent of the occupants reported to have been using restraints were totally ejected from the vehicle, compared with 31% of the unrestrained occupants. As a result, safety experts believe that the use of a rear seat belt could prevent over two thirds of fatalities and serious injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes. Therefore, this legislation seeks to reduce automobile accident fatalities and casualties by requiring all occupants of a motor vehicle to buckle up.

Prior legislative history

2015 (S1535-B/A2449-B) Referred to Transportation; 2014 (S.389/A.2449-A) Referred to Transportation; 2013 (S.389/A.2449-A) Advanced to third reading;. 2012 (S.1337/A.1306) Advanced to third reading 2011 (S.1337/A.1306) Advanced to third reading

Fiscal implications

None known

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.