What Are New York’s Seat Belt Laws?
What Are New York’s Seat Belt Laws?
Your chances of surviving a severe crash and having fewer injuries are much greater when you decide to use your seatbelt. Seatbelts make driving on the road so much safer that, in fact, every state has strict laws requiring seatbelt usage. The state of New York has some of the most stringent laws in the entire country, so it is important to know what exactly they are.
All Ages, All the Time
The Empire State’s seatbelt laws were first drafted back in 1984. The law states that primary enforcement can be used for anyone who disobeys. Primary enforcement is when a police officer is allowed to pull a driver over and give them a ticket for simply driving without wearing a seatbelt. This ticket is a fine of $50, but you’ll be paying closer to $135 due to surcharges and other fees.
According to the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission, New York has updated its seatbelt laws since the first one back in 1984. As of November 2020, all citizens, regardless of age, are required to wear a seatbelt when traveling in a passenger car. This also pertains to every seat in the motor vehicle, not just the driver seat. Failure to comply with the new seatbelts laws means that the police can use primary enforcement and issue you a fine.
What About Car Seats for Kids?
Young children cannot wear traditional seatbelts because of how small they are. The traditional seat belt would not keep them safe in an accident, which is why they must ride in a car seat. According to New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), all children under the age of 2 must ride in a rear-facing seat. Rear-facing seats have been proven to be much safer for very small children, which is why the state requires them until the age of 2.
The state law also requires all children under the age of 4 to ride in a child safety seat (can be front-facing for ages 2-4). All children under the age of 8 are required to ride in some sort of child restraint system, and once they turn 8, they can ride without one. Even if your child is taller and heavier than other children of the same age, the law requires you to have them buckled up in a child restraint system, or else you risk getting fined, and you also risk their safety in the event of a car accident.
Results of Strict Laws
New York has much stricter laws when compared to other states in the US. Other states have adopted plans of secondary enforcement rather than primary enforcement (police officers cannot pull someone over and ticket them for just not wearing a seat belt). There are also smaller fines involved with other states’ seat belt laws, and the laws do not even require people of all ages to wear a seatbelt in the car.
The results of New York’s stricter seat belt laws show that, on average, 93.4% of New Yorkers wear their seatbelts. In turn, this has helped minimize death and injury in car accidents.