Expanded Seat Belt Law
Starting November first, 2020, NY State expanded the seat belt law to include ALL passengers in the back seat of any automobile.
Previously, only passengers under 16 years of age were to buckle-in, or secured with a restraint system. There are some weight exceptions, which you can review at seat-belt law .
It is advisable to encourage all passengers to wear a seat belt at all times.
The penalty for a violation of the existing law is a fine of up to $50 per person. This means that adult passengers may receive a ticket, even if they do not possess a drivers license. An adult passenger is anyone over the age of 16. Also, driver fines range from $25 to $100 and receive three penalty points on their driver license for each violation.
New York has long been an advocate of wearing seat-belts, and it continues to be at the forefront of safe driving. So now, it doesn’t matter wear you sit in the vehicle, you must buckle-up. The NHTSA estimates that seat belts save approximately 15,000 lives each year. Further estimates indicate that if everyone fastens-in, that number could save an additional 2500 lives. The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee says that 30% of all traffic deaths happen because people are unbuckled. So, NY expanding the seat belt law seems to be a very good idea.
You may as well start developing good law abiding safety habits now, by making sure back-seat passengers and buckled-in. It will save lives, possible yours. And, it will potentially save you money.
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