BILL NUMBER:S4765A

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the use of
seatbelts by volunteer firefighters

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL:
This legislation relates to the use of seatbelts in emergency vehicles
owned or operated by a volunteer fire company or volunteer ambulance
service.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill adds a new subdivision 14 to § 1229-c of the
Vehicle & Traffic Law to prohibit the operation of an emergency
vehicle owned or operated by a volunteer fire company or volunteer
ambulance service as defined by section 100 of the General Municipal
Law unless all passengers seated in the vehicle are utilizing safety
belts or restraint systems as provided by the vehicle manufacturer.
This subdivision shall not apply to vehicles which do not have
restraint systems provided by the manufacturer, for volunteer
firefighters not seated within the confines of the vehicle or to
emergency medical personnel administering medical treatment in
accordance with applicable patient care standards or guidelines
established pursuant to Article 30 of the Public Health Law to a
patient in the rear compartment of an ambulance. It prohibits a claim
              

for benefits filed pursuant to the volunteer firefighters' benefit
law or the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit from being denied
solely on the basis of failure to comply with the provisions of this
subdivision.

Section 2 of the bill is the effective date.

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 needed the ability 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 seat belts.

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:
2009-10: A.676S/S.3671
2008-07: S.7478

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.