Seat belt legislation in the United States

Seat belt laws for front seat passengers in the U.S. as of 2009 (Today, Utah and West Virginia have primary enforcement)

  Primary enforcement

  Primary under certain ages

  Secondary enforcement

  Primary enforcement for minors, no enforcement for adults

Most seat belt legislation in the United States is left to the states. However, the first seat belt law was a federal law, Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, which took effect on January 1, 1968, that required all vehicles (except buses) to be fitted with seat belts in all designated seating positions. This law has since been modified to require three-point seat belts in outboard seating positions, and finally three-point seat belts in all seating positions. Initially, seat belt use was not compulsory. New York was the first state to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seat belts, a law that came into effect on December 1, 1984.

Primary and secondary enforcement

U.S. seatbelt legislation may be subject to primary enforcement or secondary enforcement. Primary enforcement allows a police officer to stop and ticket a driver if he or she observes a violation. Secondary enforcement means that a police officer may only stop or cite a driver for a seatbelt violation if the driver committed another primary violation (such as speeding, running a stop sign, etc.) at the same time. New Hampshire is the only U.S. state that does not by law require adult drivers to wear safety belts while operating a motor vehicle.

In 18 of the 50 states, the seat belt law is considered a secondary offense, which means that a police officer cannot stop and ticket a driver for the sole offense of not wearing a seatbelt. (One exception to this is Colorado, where children not properly restrained is a primary offense and brings a much larger fine.) If a driver commits a primary violation (e.g., for speeding) he may additionally be charged for not wearing a seatbelt. In most states the seat belt law was originally a secondary offense; in many it was later changed to a primary offense: California was the first state to do this, in 1993. Of the 30 with primary seat belt laws, all but 8, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas, originally had only secondary enforcement laws.

Laws by state

This table contains a brief summary of all seatbelt laws in the United States. This list includes only seatbelt laws, which often do not themselves apply to children; however, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have separate child restraint laws. Keep in mind these fines are the base fines only. In many cases considerable extra fees such as the head injury fund and court security fees can mark up the fine to almost five times as much in some cases. These are also "first offense" fines; a subsequent offense may be much higher.

State	Type of law	Date of first law	Who is covered	Base fine before fees	Seat Belt Usage
Alabama	Primary Enforcement	July 18, 1991	Age 15+ in front seats	$25	91.4%
Alaska	Primary Enforcement	September 12, 1990	Age 16+ in all seats	$15 ($25 actual)	86.8%
Arizona	Secondary Enforcement	January 1, 1991	Age 5+ in front seats; Age 5–15 in all seats	$10 ($37.20 actual)	81.8%
Arkansas	Primary Enforcement	July 15, 1991	Age 15+ in front seats	$25	78.3%
California	Primary Enforcement	January 1, 1986	Age 6+ in all seats	$20 ($88 actual) $50 second offense ($190 actual)	96.2%
Colorado	Secondary Enforcement4 exception Mountain View where it is a primary violation	July 1, 1987	All front seats; under 16 all seats	$71	82.9%
Connecticut	Primary Enforcement	January 1, 1986	Age 7+ in front seats	$92	88.2%
Delaware	Primary Enforcement	January 1, 1992	Age 16+ in all seats	$25	90.7%
District of Columbia	Primary Enforcement	December 12, 1985	Age 16+ in all seats	$502	92.3%
Florida	Primary Enforcement	July 1, 1986	6+ years in front seat; 6 through 17 years in all seats	$30 ($116 actual)	87.4%
Georgia	Primary Enforcement	September 1, 1988	Age 6–17 in all seats; Age 18+ in front seats	$15	89.6%
Hawaii	Primary Enforcement	December 16, 1985	Age 8–17 in all seats; Age 18+ in front seat	$45 ($92 actual)	97.6%
Idaho	Secondary Enforcement	July 1, 1986	Age 7+ in all seats	$10 ($51.50 actual)	77.9%
Illinois	Primary Enforcement	January 1, 1988	Age 16+ in all seats	$25 ($60 actual or $95 if choosing traffic school)	92.6%
Indiana	Primary Enforcement	July 1, 1987	Age 16+ in all seats	$25	92.4%
Iowa	Primary Enforcement	July 1, 1986	Age 11+ in front seats	$50 ($127.50 actual)	93.1%
Kansas	Primary Enforcement1	July 1, 1986	Age 14–17 in all seats; age 18+ in front seat	$30	81.8%
Kentucky	Primary Enforcement	July 15, 1994	More than 40 in. tall in all seats	$25	80.3%
Louisiana	Primary Enforcement	July 1, 1986	Age 13+ in front seats	$25	75.9%
Maine	Primary Enforcement	December 26, 1995	Age 18+ in all seats	$70 1st offense, $160 second up to $310 for a 3rd offense	82.0%
Maryland	Primary Enforcement	July 1, 1986	Age 16+ in front seats	$83	94.7%
Massachusetts	Secondary Enforcement	February 1, 1994	Age 13+ in all seats	$25	73.7%
Michigan	Primary Enforcement	July 1, 1985	Age 4+ in front seats; Age 4–15 in all seats	$25 ($65 actual)	95.2%
Minnesota	Primary Enforcement	August 1, 1986	Anyone not covered by child passenger safety law in all seats	$25 + $75 fee	92.3%
Mississippi	Primary Enforcement	July 1, 1994	Age 4–7 in all seats; Age 8+ in front seat	$25	81.0%
Missouri	Secondary Enforcement	September 28, 1985	Age 16+ in front seats	$10	76.0%
Montana	Secondary Enforcement	October 1, 1987	Age 6+ in all seats	$20	78.9%
Nebraska	Secondary Enforcement	January 1, 1993	Age 18+ in all seats	$25	84.1%
Nevada	Secondary Enforcement	July 1, 1987	Age 6+ in all seats	$25	93.2%
New Hampshire	Primary for children only	No law	Age 17 and under in all seats	$50	72.2%
New Jersey	Primary Enforcement1	March 1, 1985	Age 8+ in all seats	$50 per person	93.7%
New Mexico	Primary Enforcement	January 1, 1986	Age 18+ in all seats	$822	89.8%
New York	Primary Enforcement	December 1, 1984	Age 16+ in front seats	$50 ($135 Actual after surcharges)	89.8%
North Carolina	Primary Enforcement1	October 1, 1985	Age 16+ in all seats	$25 ($161 Actual after court costs)	89.7%
North Dakota	Secondary Enforcement	July 14, 1994	Age 18+ in front seats	$20 (actual $100.50)	74.8%
Ohio	Secondary Enforcement	May 6, 1986	Age 15+ in front seat; 4–14 in all seats	$30	83.8%
Oklahoma	Primary Enforcement	February 1, 1987	Age 13+ in front seats	$20	85.9%
Oregon	Primary Enforcement	December 7, 1990	Age 16+ in all seats	$90	97.0%
Pennsylvania	Secondary Enforcement	November 23, 1987	Age 8+ in front seats	$10	86.0%
Rhode Island	Primary Enforcement	June 18, 1991	Age 13+ in all seats	$75	78.0%
South Carolina	Primary Enforcement	July 1, 1989	Age 6+ in all seats	$25	85.4%
South Dakota	Secondary Enforcement	January 1, 1995	Age 18+ in front seats	$20	74.5%
Tennessee	Primary Enforcement	April 21, 1986	Age 16+ in front seats	$25	87.1%
Texas	Primary Enforcement	September 1, 1985	Age 8+ in all seats (under 15 not liable)	$50	93.8%
Utah	Primary Enforcement	April 28, 1986	Age 16+ in all seats	$45	89.0%
Vermont	Secondary Enforcement	January 1, 1994	Age 16+ in all seats	$25	85.2%
Virginia	Secondary Enforcement 4	January 1, 1988	Age 18+ in front seats	$25	80.5%
Washington	Primary Enforcement	June 11, 1986	Age 16+ in all seats	$124	97.6%
West Virginia	Primary Enforcement	September 1, 1993	8–17 in all seats	$25	82.1%
Wisconsin	Primary Enforcement	December 1, 1987	Age 8+ in all seats	$10	79.2%
Wyoming	Secondary Enforcement	June 8, 1989	Age 9+ in all seats	$25	78.9%

¹North Carolina, Kansas, and New Jersey's law is Secondary Enforcement for rear seat occupants.
²These states assess points on one's driving record for the seat belt violation.
³In California- An additional penalty of $24 shall be levied upon every $10 or fraction thereof, of every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed by and collected by the court for criminal offenses, including all traffic offenses, except parking offenses as defined in subdivision (i) of Penal Code § 1463. The additional penalty is calculated as follows:

• State penalty required by PC 1464 $10, • County penalty required by GC 76000(e), $ 7 • Court facilities construction penalty required by GC 70372(a),$ 3 • DNA Identification Fund penalty required by GC 76104.6 and 76104.7,$ 2 • Emergency medical services penalty required by GC 76000.5,$ 2

Penal Code § 1465.8 requires imposition of an additional fee of twenty dollars ($20) for court security on every conviction for a criminal offense, including a traffic offense, except parking offenses as defined in Penal Code § 1463,$20
⁴ Virginia and Colorado's Law is Secondary for adults but Primary for under the age of 16.
⁵ Effective January 1, 2011, New Jersey's law is Secondary enforcement for rear seat occupants.

Damages reduction

A person involved in a car accident who was not using a seatbelt may be liable for damages far greater than if they had been using a seatbelt. However, when in court, most states protect motorists from having their damages reduced in a lawsuit due to the nonuse of a seatbelt, even if they were acting in violation of the law by not wearing the seatbelt. Currently, damages may be reduced for the nonuse of a seatbelt in 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida (See F.S.A. 316.614(10)), Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Effectiveness

Seat belt laws are effective in reducing car crash deaths. One study found that mandatory seatbelt laws reduced traffic fatalities by 8% and serious traffic-related injuries by 9%, respectively. Primary seatbelt laws seem to be more effective at reducing crash deaths than secondary laws.

See also

• Seat belt use rates in the United States