Relates to child safety seat and seat belt requirements; requires that safety seats be secured according to the vehicle's manual or child restraint system manufacturer's instructions and requires that all back seat passengers use a seat belt.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1141
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 8, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to safety seat
and seat belt requirements
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of the
2 vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2005,
3 is amended to read as follows:
4 (a) all back seat passengers of such vehicle under the age of four are
5 restrained in a specially designed seat which meets the Federal Motor
6 Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213 and which is
7 either permanently affixed or is affixed to such vehicle by a safety
8 belt, or [in] which is secured according to the vehicle's manual or
9 child restraint system manufacturer's instructions. In the event that
10 the weight of such passenger under the age of four exceeds forty pounds,
11 such passenger [may] must be properly restrained [(i)] in an appropriate
12 child restraint system as defined in subdivision four of this section
13 [used with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts or (ii) by
14 a lap safety belt in the event such vehicle is not equipped with combi-
15 nation lap safety and shoulder harness belts or all the combination lap
16 safety and shoulder harness belts are being used to properly restrain
17 other passengers who are under the age of sixteen] and which is secured
18 according to the vehicle's manual or child restraint system manufactur-
19 er's instructions;
20 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
21 and traffic law, as amended by chapter 405 of the laws of 2009, is
22 amended to read as follows:
23 (b) all back seat passengers of such vehicle who are age four or older
24 but under age eight [(i)] are properly restrained in an appropriate
25 child restraint system as defined in subdivision four of this section
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03021-01-5
A. 1141 2
1 [used with combination lap and shoulder harness belts or (ii) are
2 restrained in a lap safety belt in the event such vehicle is not
3 equipped with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts or all
4 the combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts are being used to
5 properly restrain other passengers who are under the age of sixteen] and
6 which is secured according to the vehicle manual's or child restraint
7 system manufacturer's instructions; or
8 § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
9 and traffic law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2005, is
10 amended to read as follows:
11 (c) in the case of any other back seat passenger [under the age of
12 sixteen], he or she is restrained by a safety belt approved by the
13 commissioner.
14 § 4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
15 and traffic law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2005, is
16 amended to read as follows:
17 (b) if they are under the age of four, by a specially designed seat
18 which is either permanently affixed or affixed to such vehicle by a
19 safety belt as required by subdivision one of this section[, or in]. In
20 the event that the weight of such passenger under the age of four
21 exceeds forty pounds, such passenger [may] must be properly restrained
22 [(i)] in an appropriate child restraint system as defined in subdivision
23 four of this section [used with combination lap safety and shoulder
24 harness belts or (ii) by a lap safety belt in the event such vehicle is
25 not equipped with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts or
26 all the combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts are being used
27 to properly restrain other passengers who are under the age of sixteen]
28 and which is secured according to the vehicle's manual or child
29 restraint system manufacturer's instructions; or
30 § 5. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
31 and traffic law, as amended by chapter 405 of the laws of 2009, is
32 amended to read as follows:
33 (c) if they are age four or older but under age eight, [(i) are] such
34 passengers must be properly restrained in an appropriate child restraint
35 system as defined in subdivision four of this section [used with combi-
36 nation lap safety and shoulder harness belts or (ii) are restrained in a
37 lap safety belt in the event such vehicle is not equipped with combina-
38 tion lap safety and shoulder harness belts or all the combination lap
39 safety and shoulder harness belts are being used to properly restrain
40 other passengers who are under the age of sixteen] and which is secured
41 according to the vehicle's manual or child restraint system manufactur-
42 er's instructions.
43 § 6. Subdivision 13 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law,
44 as amended by chapter 20 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as
45 follows:
46 13. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this
47 section, no person shall operate a school bus for which there are no
48 applicable federal school bus safety standards unless all occupants are
49 restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner or, regarding
50 occupants age four or older but under age [seven] eight, are restrained
51 pursuant to subdivision one or two of this section.
52 § 7. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
53 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
