STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8660
IN SENATE
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:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "comprehensive passenger safety enhancement act".
3 § 2. Legislative purpose. The legislature finds that enhanced safety
4 measures for passengers in commercially operated vehicles are essential
5 to reduce injuries and fatalities. In alignment with recommendations
6 from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the fatal
7 2023 bus and truck collision in Louisville, NY, this act aims to improve
8 passenger safety by mandating seat belt use, conducting pre-trip safety
9 briefings, requiring regular inspections, and enforcing stricter compli-
10 ance measures.
11 § 3. Section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by
12 adding a new subdivision 3-e to read as follows:
13 3-e. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three-d of this
14 section, no person shall operate a commercial vehicle in this state
15 unless:
16 (i) such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commis-
17 sioner, and all passengers are restrained by a safety belt approved by
18 the commissioner;
19 (ii) such person conducts regular inspections of all safety belts in
20 such commercial vehicle to ensure the functionality, accessibility, and
21 proper maintenance of such safety belts. Such person shall maintain
22 records of all safety belt inspections conducted pursuant to this
23 subparagraph and make such records available for review by the depart-
24 ment and the department of transportation;
25 (iii) such person, prior to operating such commercial vehicle,
26 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
1 wearing safety belts, proper use of safety belts, and risks associated
2 with not wearing safety belts.
3 (b) No person shall be a passenger in a commercial vehicle unless such
4 passenger is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner.
5 § 4. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision 4 of section 1229-c of the
6 vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 434 of the laws of 2024,
7 are amended and two new subdivisions (f) and (g) are added to read as
8 follows:
9 (d) "charter bus" shall mean a bus manufactured or assembled on or
10 after November twenty-eighth, two thousand sixteen transporting passen-
11 gers for compensation in a chartered party; [and]
12 (e) "chartered party" shall mean a group of persons who, pursuant to a
13 common purpose and under a single contract and at a fixed charge, have
14 acquired exclusive use of a bus to travel together as a group to a
15 specific destination or for a particular itinerary either agreed upon in
16 advance or modified after having left the place of origin by such
17 group[.];
18 (f) "commercial vehicle" shall mean any vehicle used to transport more
19 than eight passengers, including the driver, whether or not for compen-
20 sation, and shall include charter buses; and
21 (g) "safety belt" shall mean any restraint system designed to secure
22 an occupant of a vehicle and reduce the risk of injury to such occupant
23 in the event of a collision.
24 § 5. Subdivisions 5 and 9 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic
25 law, as amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read
26 as follows:
27 5. Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision three,
28 three-c, three-d, three-e or ten-a of this section shall be punished by
29 a civil fine of up to fifty dollars. Any person who violates the
30 provisions of subdivision one, two, eleven or thirteen of this section
31 shall be punished by a civil fine of not less than twenty-five nor more
32 than one hundred dollars. In any prosecution or proceeding alleging a
33 violation of paragraph (b) of subdivision one or paragraph (c) of subdi-
34 vision two of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense that the
35 passenger subject to the requirements of such paragraphs was restrained
36 by a safety belt and measures more than four feet nine inches in height
37 and/or weighs more than one hundred pounds. In any prosecution or
38 proceeding alleging a violation of paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of
39 subdivision three-c of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense
40 that such taxi or livery was in violation of subdivision four-b of
41 section three hundred eighty-three of this chapter. In any prosecution
42 or proceeding alleging a violation of subdivision three-d of this
43 section, it shall be an affirmative defense that such charter bus was
44 not equipped with seat belts, or such seat belts were not clearly visi-
45 ble, accessible, or maintained in good working order.
46 9. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section,
47 (a) the provisions of this section shall not apply to buses other than
48 school buses, except as otherwise provided in [subdivision] subdivisions
49 three-d and three-e of this section and except that the provisions of
50 subdivision three-a of this section shall be applicable to any person
51 operating a charter bus and to charter bus passengers age eight or
52 older, and (b) the provisions of subdivisions one, two, three and
53 three-a of this section shall not apply to taxis and liveries except
54 that the provisions of subdivision three-a of this section shall be
55 applicable to any person operating a taxi or livery and to taxi and
56 livery passengers age eight or older.
S. 8660 3
1 § 6. Section 14 of the transportation law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 37 to read as follows:
3 37. To develop and distribute, in collaboration with transportation
4 unions and associations, educational materials to promote seat belt use
5 and safe seat belt practices.
6 § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
7 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that if chapter 434 of
8 the laws of 2024 shall not have taken effect on or before such date then
9 sections four and five of this act shall take effect on the same date
10 and in the same manner as such chapter of the laws of 2024, takes
11 effect. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of
12 any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on
13 its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before
14 such effective date.
