BILL NUMBER:S389

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 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 89%. 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, 19 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:

2011-12: S.1337/A.1306 - Passed Assembly; Advanced to 3rd Reading


         in Senate
2009-10: S.1169B/A.225-A

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.