BTS | Table 2-4: Key Provisions of Safety Belt Use Laws: 2002

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BTS Home > Publications > State Transportation Statistics > State Transportation Statistics 2004

Table 2-4: Key Provisions of Safety Belt Use Laws: 2002

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State	Effective¹	Enforcement²	Fine	Seats covered	Vehicles exempted⁹
Alabama	7/18/1992	Primary	$25	Front	Designed for >10 passengers; model year <1965. Exemptions for medical reasons, rural mail carriers, and paper delivery.
Alaska	9/12/1990	Secondary	$15	All	School bus.
Arizona	1/1/1991	Secondary	$10	All	Designed for >10 passengers; model year < 1972.
Arkansas	7/15/1991	Secondary	$25	Front	School, church, or public bus; model year <1968.
California	1/1/1986	Primary	$20	All	None.
Colorado	7/1/1987	Secondary	$17	Front	Passenger bus, school bus, farm tractor, implements of husbandry.
Connecticut	1/1/1986	Primary	$37	Front	Truck or bus >15,000 lbs.
Delaware	1/1/1992	Secondary	$20	Front	Postal service vehicles.
District of Columbia	12/12/1985	Primary	$50⁵	All	Seating >8 people.
Florida	7/1/1986	Secondary	$30	Front	School bus, public bus, truck >5,000 lbs.
Georgia	9/1/1988	Primary	$15	Front	Designed for >10 passengers; pickup truck.
Hawaii	2/16/1985	Primary	$45	Front	Bus or school bus >10,000 lbs.
Idaho	7/1/1986	Secondary	$5	Front	>8,000 lbs.
Illinois	7/1/1985	Secondary	$25	Front	None.
Indiana	7/1/1987	Primary	$25	Front	Truck, tractor, RV.
Iowa	7/1/1986	Primary	$25	Front	None.
Kansas	7/1/1986	Secondary	$10	Front	Designed for >10 people; truck >12,000 lbs.
Kentucky	7/13/1994	Secondary	$25	All	Designed for >10 people.
Louisiana	7/1/1986	Primary	$25	Front	Designed for >10 people; model year <1981.
Maine	12/27/1995	Secondary	$25-$50	All seats
Maryland	7/1/1986	Primary	$25	Front	Historic vehicle.
Massachusetts	2/1/1994	Secondary	$25	All seats	Truck >18,000 lbs; bus and taxi operators.
Michigan	7/1/1985	Primary	$25	Front	Taxi, bus, school bus.
Minnesota	8/1/1986	Secondary	$25	Front	Farm pickup truck.
Mississippi	3/20/1990	Secondary	$25	Front	Farm vehicle, bus; exemptions for medical reasons and letter carriers.
Missouri	9/28/1985	Secondary	$10	Front	Designed for >10 people; truck >12,000 lbs.
Montana	10/1/1987	Secondary	$20	All	Specially licensed motor vehicles and vehicles that make frequent stops.
Nebraska	1/1/1993	Secondary	$25	Front	Model year <1973.
Nevada	7/1/1987	Secondary	$25	All	Taxi, bus, school bus.
New Hampshire	None	No adult law	NA	NA	School bus, vehicle for hire; model year <1968.
New Jersey	3/1/1985	Primary	$20⁶	Front	None.
New Mexico	1/1/1986	Primary	$25⁵	All	>10,000 lbs.
New York	12/1/1984	Primary	$50-$100⁷	Front	Bus, school bus, taxi, emergency vehicle.
North Carolina	10/1/1985	Primary	$25	Front	Designed for >10 people.
North Dakota	7/14/1994	Secondary	$20	Front	Designed for >10 people.
Ohio	5/6/1986	Secondary	$25	Front	None.
Oklahoma	2/1/1987	Primary	$20	Front	Farm vehicle, truck, truck tractor, RV.
Oregon	12/7/1990	Primary	$75	All	Newspaper, mail, meter, transit vehicle.¹⁰
Pennsylvania	11/23/1987	Secondary³	$10	Front	Truck >7,000 lbs.
Rhode Island	6/18/1991	Secondary	$50	All	Manufactured before July 1, 1966; letter carriers; persons with physical/medical reasons, with a note from a licensed physician.
South Carolina	7/1/1989	Secondary	$10	All	School bus, public bus; vehicle with no belts in rear seating areas.
South Dakota	1/1/1995	Secondary	$20	Front	Passenger bus, school bus.
Tennessee	4/21/1986	Secondary	$10	Front	>8,500 lbs.
Texas	9/1/1985	Primary	$25-$50	Front	Designed for >10 people, truck over 15,000 lbs, farm vehicle.
Utah	4/28/1986	Secondary	$45	All	None.
Vermont	1/1/1994	Secondary	$10	All	Bus, taxi.
Virginia	1/1/1988	Secondary	$25	Front	Designed for >10 people, taxi.
Washington	6/11/1986	Primary⁴	$86	All	Designed for >10 people.
West Virginia	9/1/1993	Secondary	$25	Front	Designed for >10 people.
Wisconsin	12/1/1987	Secondary	$10	All	Taxi, farm truck.
Wyoming	6/8/1989	Secondary	$25⁸	All	Persons with physical/medical exemption documented by physician's signature; postal vehicles; children riding in child seats as required by law.

¹ Effective date of first belt law in the state; ² Primary enforcement enables police officers to stop vehicles and write citations whenever they observe a violation of the seat belt law. Secondary enforcement allows police officers to write a citation for seat belt infractions only after stopping a vehicle for some other traffic infraction; ³ Pennsylvania's fine is $10, but with court, EMS, judicial, and computer costs the ticket total is $51.50; ⁴ Effective June 2002; ⁵ Plus 2 points on license; ⁶$20 for seat belt violation, $10-$25 for child seat violation; ⁷ Plus 3 points on license. Front seat passengers 16 and older can be fined up to $50 and drivers can be fined up to $100 for each passenger under 16 not wearing a seat belt; ⁸ Fine for driver is $25, fine for passengers over 12 years is $10; ⁹ Most states exempt vehicles not manufactured with seatbelts; ¹⁰ Police/emergency vehicles exempted in some situations.

KEY: NA = not applicable; RV = recreational vehicle.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts 2003 Early Edition, Washington, DC: 2004, available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSFAnn/TSF2003EarlyEdition.pdf as of Oct. 27, 2004.