Requires the use of seatbelts by volunteer firefighters

Summary of provisions

Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of Section 1229-c of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended to include in the definition of motor vehicle for the purposes of this Section fire vehicles owned and/or operated by a fire company as defined by subdivision 2 of section 100 of the General Municipal Law and ambulances owned and/or operated by a voluntary ambulance service as defined by subdivision 3 of Section 100 of the General Municipal Law.

Section 1229-c of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended by adding a new Section 10-a to provide that no person 16 years of age or over to be a passenger in the rear seat of a fire vehicle owned and/or operated by a fire company as defined by subdivision 2 of section 100 of the General Municipal Law or in the rear seat of an ambulance owned and/or operated by a voluntary ambulance service as defined by subdivision 3 of Section 100 of the General Municipal Law unless such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Provided, however, that the provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to passengers in the rear seat of such fire or ambulance vehicle if such seat is not required to be equipped with safety belts pursuant to the provisions of Section 383 of this chapter, nor to emergency medical personnel during the course of providing patient care in the rear compartment of an ambulance in accordance with applicable patient care standards, guidelines and protocols established pursuant to Article 30 of the Public Health Law.

Subdivision 5 of Section 1229-c of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended to include Section 10-a in order to provide that the penalty for violating the provisions of the section shall be a civil fine of up to fifty dollars.

Justification

In 1984, NYS adopted § 1229-c of the NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law. This law sets forth the rules for operation of vehicles that have safety or seat belts. In general, this law requires operators and passengers of "motor vehicles" to be restrained by safety belts. However, certain vehicles are exempt from the law's requirements. Under § 1229-c, "authorized emergency vehicles" are exempt from the definition of the term "motor vehicle". These vehicles were excluded from the requirements of § 1229-c since the operators of these vehicles need to perform their duties in an unhampered fashion. The term "authorized

emergency vehicle" is defined under § 101 of the Vehicle & Traffic Law and is defined to include fire and ambulance vehicles. As a result, fire and ambulance vehicles are exempt from the requirement to use safety or seatbelts.

The single largest cause of Volunteer Firefighter and EMS responder death is vehicle accidents to and from an incident scene. The largest contributor to those deaths is failure to wear seat belts. Volunteers would like the current exemption removed from the law making New York law consistent with the training and operational procedures currently in place to promote seat belt use.

Use of seat belts promotes safety and saves lives. Since buckling a seat belt takes just a few seconds, fire and ambulance vehicles should be required to use them. This bill is strongly supported by the Fireman's Association of the State of New York.

Legislative history

2014: Similar legislation (S. 3733) was reported to Rules

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the 1st of November.