What's happening
This bill requires all passengers, including those in taxicabs and for-hire vehicles, to wear seat belts and adjusts related enforcement and fines.
Why it matters
Expands seat belt requirements. to include all passengers in taxicabs, liveries, and other for-hire vehicles, not just drivers or front-seat passengers—this means anyone in a hired vehicle must buckle up, which could significantly reduce injuries in crashes involving these vehicles.
Clarifies enforcement and responsibility. by stating drivers of taxicabs or for-hire vehicles are not liable or fined if a passenger fails to wear a seat belt, shifting the legal responsibility to individual passengers rather than drivers or companies.
Specifies how violations are handled for minors. , making parents or guardians (if present and over 18) responsible for seat belt violations by those under 18, which could increase adult accountability and encourage family safety habits when using hired transportation.
Closes a prior loophole. by removing broad exemptions for taxis and liveries from seat belt laws, aligning their safety standards with those for private vehicles and potentially impacting public health outcomes and insurance liabilities.
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Who cares
Passengers age 16 and older
The bill would require them to wear approved safety belts in rear seats as well as front seats, including in taxis, liveries and other for-hire vehicles.
Taxi, livery and other for-hire drivers
The bill would require drivers to buckle up but would exempt taxi and for-hire drivers from civil fines for passengers’ failure to comply.
Parents and guardians of 16- and 17-year-olds
The bill would direct police to issue a summons for a minor’s violation only to a parent or guardian who is at least 18 and present when the violation occurs.
Police officers
The bill would expand the passenger seat-belt requirement they enforce to rear seats and specified for-hire vehicles, with violations subject to civil fines of up to $50.
Headline styles
Require Back Seat Seatbelts
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2928
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 18, 2017
Introduced by Sen. DILAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to mandatory seat belt use
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivisions 3, 5 and 9 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law, subdivision 3 as added by chapter 365 of the laws of 1984, 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:
3. No person shall operate a motor vehicle, including taxicabs, liveries and other for hire vehicles, unless such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner. No person sixteen years of age or over shall be a passenger in [the front seat of] a motor vehicle, including taxicabs, liveries and other for hire vehicles, unless such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner.
5. Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision three or ten-a of this section shall be punished by a civil fine of up to fifty dollars. A police officer shall only issue a summons for a violation of subdivision three of this section by a person less than eighteen years old to the parent or guardian of such person if the violation by such person occurs in the presence of such person's parent or guardian and where such parent or guardian is eighteen years of age of older. No person operating a taxicab or for hire vehicle shall be subject to a civil fine for the failure of a passenger to comply with the provisions of subdivision three of this section. 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 subdi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01383-01-7
S. 2928 2
vision 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.
9. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four and except as provided for in subdivisions three and five, this section shall not apply to taxis, liveries, and buses other than school buses.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
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 2015, 31 years after the law was enacted, the compliance rate was up to 88.5%. 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
2015-2016 (S1535-B/A2449-B) Referred to Transportation 2013-2014(S.389/A.2449-A) 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.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.