NY State Assembly Bill 2009-A11159

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 20, 2010	referred to transportation

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:: S7616
Current Committee:: Assembly Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1229-c, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: A2740
2013-2014: A1613
2015-2016: A1141
2017-2018: A7033
2019-2020: A2412

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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.

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:A11159

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation
to safety seat and seat belt requirements

PURPOSE OF THE BILL:

This  bill  would require that all back seat passengers use a seat belt.
It would also correct other oversights in  current  law,  including  one
governing the use of booster seats on school buses, which would make New
York  eligible  to  receive  approximately $1 million in federal highway
safety grants.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would amend  Vehicle  and  Traffic  Law  (VTL)
1229-c(1)(a)  to permit the securing of child restraint seats in accord-
ance with the vehicle's manual or child restraint system  manufacturer's
instructions,  and  removes  an  exemption  in  the  seat belt law which
permits children under the age of 4 and weighing over 40  pounds  to  be
secured  in  the  rear  seat by only the use of a lap safety belt if the
vehicle is not equipped with combination lap and shoulder harness belts,
or if all such combinations are  being  used  to  restrain  other  child
passengers.

Section  2  of  this  bill would amend VTL § 1229-c(1 )(b) to remove the

above-referenced exemption currently provided for child passengers  over
the age of 4 and under the age of 8.

Section 3 of this bill would amend VTL § 1 229-c(1)(c) to remove the age
restrictions  for the use of seat belts by rear seat passengers, thereby
requiring that all rear seat passengers use a seat belt.

Section 4 of this bill would  amend  VTL  §1229-c(2)(b)  to  remove  the
exemptions  for  front  seat child passengers, as was done for rear seat
passengers in bill section 1.

Section 5 of the bill would amend VTL  §1229-c(13)  to  provide  that  a
child between the ages of 4 and 7 being transported in a school bus that
does  not  meet federal safety standards must be restrained in a booster
seat.

Section 6 of the bill provides that it would take effect on the November
1 subsequent to it becoming law.

EXISTING LAW:

Currently, only back seat passengers under the age of 16 are required to
be restrained in a safety belt. Children between the ages of 4 and 6 who
are passengers in a school bus must be restrained  in  a  booster  seat.
Current  law  permits  children  under the age of 4 and weighing over 40
pounds to be secured by only the use of a lap safety belt if the vehicle

is not equipped with combination lap and shoulder harness belts,  or  if
all such combinations are being used to restrain other child passengers.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Part  of  this  bill,  requiring  all rear seat passengers to use a seat
belt, was initially included in S.3623/A.8612 in 2009. However, although
S.3623/A.8612, which raised the age of children required to use a boost-
er seat, became law, the seat belt provision was deleted from the  final
version of the bill.

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:

This bill will help reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities
resulting  from  motor  vehicle crashes. A study by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released in June 2009 states:  "An
additional 4,152 lives would have been saved in 2008 if all unrestrained
passenger  vehicle  occupants  age 5 and older involved in fatal crashes
had worn their seatbelts." An analysis of New York State by NHTSA  indi-
cates  that 101 additional lives could have been saved with seatbelt use
by all occupants. Requiring all occupants  to  wear  safety  belts  will
reduce the number of fatal and serious injuries.

The  amendment  to VTL § 1229-c(13) is necessary to correct an oversight
in Chapter 405 of the Laws of 2009, which provided that children who are
between the ages of 4 and 7 and are passengers in  most  motor  vehicles
must be restrained in a booster seat. Chapter 405 failed to include such
children  who  are  passengers  in school buses that do not meet federal
safety standards.

The amendments to VTL § 1229-c(1) and (2) reflect changes in the  avail-
ability  and price of child restraint systems since the last revision of
these subdivisions. There no  longer  exists  a  justification  for  the
exemptions from the requirement of child passengers under 4 and weighing
over  40  pounds  from  being restrained in booster seats.  According to
NHTSA, seats that are capable of fitting children  weighing  over  forty
pounds  are  widely  available  and  their  cost has decreased since the
exemptions in the current law were  enacted.  These  seats  are  secured
according  to  the vehicle's manual or the manufacturer's specification,
and are commonly referred to as Lower Anchors and Tethers  for  Children
(LATCH).  It  should  be  noted  that failure to enact the amendments to
these subdivisions and to subdivision 13 of section 1229-c will preclude
DMV from receiving approximately $1 million in incentive grants from the
National Highway Safety Administration to DMV for child passenger safety
programs.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

The amendments to the booster seats on school buses  provision  and  the
elimination  of  the  seat  belt  exemption  for children would make DMV
eligible for a highway safety grant of approximately $1 million from the
National Highway Safety Administration. This would  not  have  a  fiscal

impact  on school districts, as a review has indicated that the vehicles
at issue already have boosters installed.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

The  bill  would take effect on the first day of November after becoming
law.

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  11159

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 20, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. GANTT -- (at request of the Department of Motor
  Vehicles) -- 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:

  Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of  section  1229-c  of  the
vehicle  and  traffic law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2005,
is amended to read as follows:
  (a) all back seat passengers of such vehicle under the age of four are
restrained in a specially designed seat which meets  the  Federal  Motor
Vehicle  Safety  Standards  set  forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213 and which is
either permanently affixed or is affixed to such  vehicle  by  a  safety
belt,  or  [in]  WHICH  IS  SECURED ACCORDING TO THE VEHICLE'S MANUAL OR
CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS. IN  the  event  that
the weight of such passenger under the age of four exceeds forty pounds,
such passenger [may] MUST be PROPERLY restrained [(i)] in an appropriate
child  restraint  system  as defined in subdivision four of this section
[used with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts or (ii)  by
a  lap safety belt in the event such vehicle is not equipped with combi-
nation lap safety and shoulder harness belts or all the combination  lap
safety  and  shoulder  harness belts are being used to properly restrain
other passengers who are under the age of sixteen] AND WHICH IS  SECURED
ACCORDING  TO THE VEHICLE'S MANUAL OR CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM MANUFACTUR-
ER'S INSTRUCTIONS;
  S 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of  the  vehicle
and  traffic  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 405 of the laws of 2009, is
amended to read as follows:
  (b) all back seat passengers of such vehicle who are age four or older
but under age eight [(i)] are  PROPERLY  restrained  in  an  appropriate
child  restraint  system  as defined in subdivision four of this section
[used with combination lap  and  shoulder  harness  belts  or  (ii)  are
restrained  in  a  lap  safety  belt  in  the  event such vehicle is not
equipped with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts  or  all

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD15770-01-0

A. 11159                            2

the  combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts are being used to
properly restrain other passengers who are under the age of sixteen] AND
WHICH IS SECURED ACCORDING TO THE VEHICLE MANUAL'S  OR  CHILD  RESTRAINT
SYSTEM MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS; or
  S  3.  Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
and traffic law, as amended by chapter  18  of  the  laws  of  2005,  is
amended to read as follows:
  (c)  in  the  case  of any other back seat passenger [under the age of
sixteen], he or she is restrained by  a  safety  belt  approved  by  the
commissioner.
  S  4.  Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
and traffic law, as amended by chapter  18  of  the  laws  of  2005,  is
amended to read as follows:
  (b)  if  they  are under the age of four, by a specially designed seat
which is either permanently affixed or affixed  to  such  vehicle  by  a
safety belt as required by subdivision one of this section[, or in]. IN
 the  event  that  the  weight  of  such passenger under the age of four
exceeds forty pounds, such passenger [may] MUST be  PROPERLY  restrained
[(i)] in an appropriate child restraint system as defined in subdivision
four  of  this  section  [used  with combination lap safety and shoulder
harness belts or (ii) by a lap safety belt in the event such vehicle  is
not  equipped  with combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts or
all the combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts are being used
to properly restrain other passengers who are under the age of  sixteen]
AND  WHICH  IS  SECURED  ACCORDING  TO  THE  VEHICLE'S  MANUAL  OR CHILD
RESTRAINT SYSTEM MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS; or
  S 5. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 1229-c of  the  vehicle
and  traffic  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 405 of the laws of 2009, is
amended to read as follows:
  (c) if they are age four or older but under age eight, [(i) are]  SUCH
PASSENGERS MUST BE PROPERLY restrained in an appropriate child restraint
system  as defined in subdivision four of this section [used with combi-
nation lap safety and shoulder harness belts or (ii) are restrained in a
lap safety belt in the event such vehicle is not equipped with  combina-
tion  lap  safety  and shoulder harness belts or all the combination lap
safety and shoulder harness belts are being used  to  properly  restrain
other  passengers who are under the age of sixteen] AND WHICH IS SECURED
ACCORDING TO THE VEHICLE'S MANUAL OR CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM  MANUFACTUR-
ER'S INSTRUCTIONS.
  S  6. Subdivision 13 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law,
as amended by chapter 20 of the laws of 2008,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  13.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  subdivision  four  of  this
section, no person shall operate a school bus for  which  there  are  no
applicable  federal school bus safety standards unless all occupants are
restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner  or,  regarding
occupants  age four or older but under age [seven] EIGHT, are restrained
pursuant to subdivision one or two of this section.
  S 7. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Assembly Bill A11159

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Assembly Bill A11159

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Sponsored By

GANTT

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-A11159 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments