Senate Bill S8660

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8660
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 7, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEC  --  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 and the transportation  law,
   in relation to establishing mandatory safety belt use, pre-trip safety
   briefings,  and regular safety belt inspections for commercial passen-
   ger vehicles

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 the "comprehensive passenger safety enhancement act".
   § 2. Legislative purpose. The legislature finds that  enhanced  safety
 measures  for passengers in commercially operated vehicles are essential
 to reduce injuries and fatalities.  In  alignment  with  recommendations
 from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the fatal
 2023 bus and truck collision in Louisville, NY, this act aims to improve
 passenger  safety by mandating seat belt use, conducting pre-trip safety
 briefings, requiring regular inspections, and enforcing stricter compli-
 ance measures.
   § 3. Section 1229-c of the vehicle  and  traffic  law  is  amended  by
 adding a new subdivision 3-e to read as follows:
   3-E. (A) NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION THREE-D OF THIS
 SECTION,  NO  PERSON  SHALL  OPERATE  A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE IN THIS STATE
 UNLESS:
   (I) SUCH PERSON IS RESTRAINED BY A SAFETY BELT APPROVED BY THE COMMIS-
 SIONER, AND ALL PASSENGERS ARE RESTRAINED BY A SAFETY BELT  APPROVED  BY
 THE COMMISSIONER;
   (II)  SUCH  PERSON CONDUCTS REGULAR INSPECTIONS OF ALL SAFETY BELTS IN
 SUCH COMMERCIAL VEHICLE TO ENSURE THE FUNCTIONALITY, ACCESSIBILITY,  AND
 PROPER  MAINTENANCE  OF  SUCH  SAFETY  BELTS. SUCH PERSON SHALL MAINTAIN
 RECORDS OF ALL  SAFETY  BELT  INSPECTIONS  CONDUCTED  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
 SUBPARAGRAPH  AND  MAKE SUCH RECORDS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW BY THE DEPART-
 MENT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION;
   (III)  SUCH  PERSON,  PRIOR  TO  OPERATING  SUCH  COMMERCIAL  VEHICLE,
 CONDUCTS  SAFETY  BRIEFINGS  TO  INFORM  PASSENGERS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD09604-01-5
 S. 8660                             2
 
 WEARING SAFETY BELTS, PROPER USE OF SAFETY BELTS, AND  RISKS  ASSOCIATED
 WITH NOT WEARING SAFETY BELTS.
   (B) NO PERSON SHALL BE A PASSENGER IN A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE UNLESS SUCH
 PASSENGER IS RESTRAINED BY A SAFETY BELT APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   §  4. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision 4 of section 1229-c of the
 vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 434 of the  laws  of  2024,
 are  amended  and  two new subdivisions (f) and (g) are added to read as
 follows:
   (d) "charter bus" shall mean a bus manufactured  or  assembled  on  or
 after  November twenty-eighth, two thousand sixteen transporting passen-
 gers for compensation in a chartered party; [and]
   (e) "chartered party" shall mean a group of persons who, pursuant to a
 common purpose and under a single contract and at a fixed  charge,  have
 acquired  exclusive  use  of  a  bus  to travel together as a group to a
 specific destination or for a particular itinerary either agreed upon in
 advance or modified after having  left  the  place  of  origin  by  such
 group[.];
   (F) "COMMERCIAL VEHICLE" SHALL MEAN ANY VEHICLE USED TO TRANSPORT MORE
 THAN  EIGHT PASSENGERS, INCLUDING THE DRIVER, WHETHER OR NOT FOR COMPEN-
 SATION, AND SHALL INCLUDE CHARTER BUSES; AND
   (G) "SAFETY BELT" SHALL MEAN ANY RESTRAINT SYSTEM DESIGNED  TO  SECURE
 AN  OCCUPANT OF A VEHICLE AND REDUCE THE RISK OF INJURY TO SUCH OCCUPANT
 IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION.
   § 5. Subdivisions 5 and 9 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic
 law, as amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 2024, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   5.  Any  person  who  violates  the  provisions  of subdivision three,
 three-c, three-d, THREE-E 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 subdi-
 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.  In  any  prosecution  or
 proceeding  alleging  a  violation  of paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) 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. In  any  prosecution
 or  proceeding  alleging  a  violation  of  subdivision  three-d of this
 section, it shall be an affirmative defense that such  charter  bus  was
 not  equipped with seat belts, or such seat belts were not clearly visi-
 ble, accessible, or maintained in good working order.
   9. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section,
 (a) the provisions of this section shall not apply to buses  other  than
 school buses, except as otherwise provided in [subdivision] SUBDIVISIONS
 three-d  AND  THREE-E  of this section and except that the provisions of
 subdivision three-a of this section shall be applicable  to  any  person
 operating  a  charter  bus  and  to  charter bus passengers age eight or
 older, and (b) the  provisions  of  subdivisions  one,  two,  three  and
 three-a  of  this  section  shall not apply to taxis and liveries except
 that the provisions of subdivision three-a  of  this  section  shall  be
 applicable  to  any  person  operating  a taxi or livery and to taxi and
 livery passengers age eight or older.
 S. 8660                             3
 
   § 6. Section 14 of the transportation law is amended by adding  a  new
 subdivision 37 to read as follows:
   37.  TO  DEVELOP  AND DISTRIBUTE, IN COLLABORATION WITH TRANSPORTATION
 UNIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS, EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS TO PROMOTE SEAT BELT  USE
 AND SAFE SEAT BELT PRACTICES.
   § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall  have  become a law; provided, however, that if chapter 434 of
 the laws of 2024 shall not have taken effect on or before such date then
 sections four and five of this act shall take effect on  the  same  date
 and  in  the  same  manner  as  such  chapter of the laws of 2024, takes
 effect.  Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of
 any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this  act  on
 its  effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before
 such effective date.