What's happening
This bill requires taxi and livery drivers and front seat passengers age 16 and over to wear seat belts.
Why it matters
Closes a safety loophole for taxis and liveries. Previously, taxi and livery drivers and their front-seat passengers were largely exempt from seat belt requirements; this bill removes that exemption, meaning they now face similar safety expectations and enforcement as private vehicle users.
Public health and injury reduction. By mandating seat belt use for these drivers and passengers, the bill aims to decrease injuries and fatalities in crashes involving taxis and livery vehicles, which are often used in urban areas with higher traffic risks.
Legal and operational changes for drivers and companies. Taxi and livery operators will need to ensure compliance, potentially affecting how companies train drivers and inform passengers, and could impact insurance liability and claims related to accidents.
Affirmative defense provisions. The bill introduces a legal defense for drivers if their vehicle is noncompliant with seat belt laws due to specific mechanical or regulatory issues, offering some protection against penalties in cases where compliance is not possible.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Seatbelts in Taxis
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Signed chap.340
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to assembly
- Passed senateVote 58–4
- 3rd reading cal.2133
- Substituted for S5749
- Referred to rules
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Advanced to third reading cal.486
- Reported
- Reported referred to codes
Show 1 earlier action
- Referred to transportation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Seatbelts Required in Taxis
Senate Floor Calendar · Sponsor Martin J. Golden
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1258
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the use of safety belts in taxicabs and liveries
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivisions 5 and 9 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law, subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 448 of the laws of 2015 and subdivision 9 as amended by chapter 390 of the laws of 1996, are amended to read as follows:
5. Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision three, three-c or ten-a of this section shall be punished by a civil fine of up to fifty dollars. Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision one, two, eleven or thirteen of this section shall be punished by a civil fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars. In any prosecution or proceeding alleging a violation of paragraph (b) of subdivision one or paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense that the passenger subject to the requirements of such paragraphs was restrained by a safety belt and measures more than four feet nine inches in height and/or weighs more than one hundred pounds. In any prosecution or proceeding alleging a violation of paragraph (b) of subdivision three-c of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense that such taxi or livery was in violation of subdivision four-b of section three hundred eighty-three of this chapter.
9. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section, the provisions of this section shall not apply to [taxis, liveries, and] buses other than school buses and the provisions of subdivisions one, two, three and three-a of this section shall not apply to taxis and liveries.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04425-01-7
A. 1258 2
§ 2. Section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new subdivision 3-c to read as follows:
3-c. (a) No person shall operate a taxi or livery unless such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner.
(b) No person sixteen years of age or over shall be a passenger in the front seat of a taxi or livery unless such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner.
§ 3. This act shall take effect November 1, 2017. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date is authorized to be made on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.