Bill Text: NY A02412 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-14 - enacting clause stricken [A02412 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A02412-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2412
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 22, 2019
                                       ___________
        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    § 1-a. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
    21  and traffic law, as amended by chapter 393  of  the  laws  of  2017,  is
    22  amended to read as follows:
    23    (a) all back seat passengers of such vehicle under the age of four are
    24  restrained  in  a  specially designed seat which meets the Federal Motor
    25  Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R.  571.213  and  which  is
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00974-02-9
        A. 2412                             2
     1  either  permanently  affixed  or  is affixed to such vehicle by a safety
     2  belt, or which is secured according to the  vehicle's  manual  or  child
     3  restraint  system  manufacturer's instructions, and which shall be rear-
     4  facing whenever the passenger being restrained in such seat is under the
     5  age  of  two  except that in the event that the weight or height of such
     6  passenger under the age of two exceeds  the  occupant  size  and  weight
     7  recommendations  of the manufacturer of such rear-facing seat, such seat
     8  may be forward-facing; provided, however, that in  the  event  that  the
     9  weight  of  such  passenger  under the age of four exceeds forty pounds,
    10  such passenger [may] must be properly restrained (i) in  an  appropriate
    11  child  restraint  system  as defined in subdivision four of this section
    12  [used with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts or (ii)  by
    13  a  lap safety belt in the event such vehicle is not equipped with combi-
    14  nation lap safety and shoulder harness belts or all the combination  lap
    15  safety  and  shoulder  harness belts are being used to properly restrain
    16  other passengers who are under the age of sixteen] and which is  secured
    17  according  to the vehicle's manual or child restraint system manufactur-
    18  er's instructions;
    19    § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of  the  vehicle
    20  and  traffic  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 405 of the laws of 2009, is
    21  amended to read as follows:
    22    (b) all back seat passengers of such vehicle who are age four or older
    23  but under age eight [(i)] are  properly  restrained  in  an  appropriate
    24  child  restraint  system  as defined in subdivision four of this section
    25  [used with combination lap  and  shoulder  harness  belts  or  (ii)  are
    26  restrained  in  a  lap  safety  belt  in  the  event such vehicle is not
    27  equipped with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts  or  all
    28  the  combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts are being used to
    29  properly restrain other passengers who are under the age of sixteen] and
    30  which is secured according to the vehicle's manual  or  child  restraint
    31  system manufacturer's instructions; or
    32    § 2-a. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
    33  and  traffic  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 393 of the laws of 2017, is
    34  amended to read as follows:
    35    (b) all back seat passengers of such vehicle who are age four or older
    36  but under age eight [(i)] are  properly  restrained  in  an  appropriate
    37  child  restraint  system  as defined in subdivision four of this section
    38  [used with combination lap  and  shoulder  harness  belts  or  (ii)  are
    39  restrained  in  a  lap  safety  belt  in  the  event such vehicle is not
    40  equipped with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts  or  all
    41  the  combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts are being used to
    42  properly restrain other passengers who are under the age of sixteen] and
    43  which is secured according to the vehicle's manual  or  child  restraint
    44  system manufacturer's instructions; or
    45    §  3.  Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
    46  and traffic law, as amended by chapter  18  of  the  laws  of  2005,  is
    47  amended to read as follows:
    48    (c)  in  the  case  of any other back seat passenger [under the age of
    49  sixteen], he or she is restrained by  a  safety  belt  approved  by  the
    50  commissioner.
    51    § 3-a. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
    52  and  traffic  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 393 of the laws of 2017, is
    53  amended to read as follows:
    54    (c) in the case of any other back seat passenger  [under  the  age  of
    55  sixteen],  he  or  she  is  restrained  by a safety belt approved by the
    56  commissioner.
        A. 2412                             3
     1    § 4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 1229-c of  the  vehicle
     2  and  traffic  law,  as  amended  by  chapter  18 of the laws of 2005, is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    (b)  if  they  are under the age of four, by a specially designed seat
     5  which is either permanently affixed or affixed  to  such  vehicle  by  a
     6  safety belt as required by subdivision one of this section[, or in]. In
     7   the  event  that  the  weight  of  such passenger under the age of four
     8  exceeds forty pounds, such passenger [may] must be  properly  restrained
     9  [(i)] in an appropriate child restraint system as defined in subdivision
    10  four  of  this  section  [used  with combination lap safety and shoulder
    11  harness belts or (ii) by a lap safety belt in the event such vehicle  is
    12  not  equipped  with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts or
    13  all the combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts are being used
    14  to properly restrain other passengers who are under the age of  sixteen]
    15  and  which  is  secured  according  to  the  vehicle's  manual  or child
    16  restraint system manufacturer's instructions; or
    17    § 5. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 1229-c of  the  vehicle
    18  and  traffic  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 405 of the laws of 2009, is
    19  amended to read as follows:
    20    (c) if they are age four or older but under age eight, [(i) are]  such
    21  passengers must be properly restrained in an appropriate child restraint
    22  system  as defined in subdivision four of this section [used with combi-
    23  nation lap safety and shoulder harness belts or (ii) are restrained in a
    24  lap safety belt in the event such vehicle is not equipped with  combina-
    25  tion  lap  safety  and shoulder harness belts or all the combination lap
    26  safety and shoulder harness belts are being used  to  properly  restrain
    27  other  passengers who are under the age of sixteen] and which is secured
    28  according to the vehicle's manual or child restraint system  manufactur-
    29  er's instructions.
    30    §  6. Subdivision 13 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law,
    31  as amended by chapter 20 of the laws of 2008,  is  amended  to  read  as
    32  follows:
    33    13.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  subdivision  four  of  this
    34  section, no person shall operate a school bus for  which  there  are  no
    35  applicable  federal school bus safety standards unless all occupants are
    36  restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner  or,  regarding
    37  occupants  age four or older but under age [seven] eight, are restrained
    38  pursuant to subdivision one or two of this section.
    39    § 7. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
    40  ing the date on which it shall have become a law; provided however  that
    41  sections  1-a,  2-a,  and  3-a of this act shall take effect on the same
    42  date and in the same manner as chapter 393 of the laws  of  2017,  takes
    43  effect.