## SEAT BELTS, CHILD SAFETY SEATS AND AIR BAGS 

Seat belts save lives and can prevent serious injuries in traffic crashes. This is why New York State requires seat belt use by adults in motor ve- hicles and seat belts, booster seats or child safety seats for children. 

New York is a “primary enforcement” state, which means a police officer can pull you over just because you or one of your passengers isn’t wearing their seatbelt. A law enforcement officer can issue a traffic ticket for failure to wear a seat belt. This law also applies to visitors from outside New York State. Highlights of the New York State occupant restraint law: 

• In the front seat, the driver and each passen- ger must be properly restrained, one person per belt. The driver and front-seat passen- gers age 16 or older can each face a fine of up to $50 if they fail to buckle up. 

• For vehicles driven by persons with a Class-DJ learner permit or a Class-DJ driver license, every occupant, no matter the age or seating position, must correctly use a safety restraint. 

• The driver must make sure that each pas- senger under 16 obeys the law. The driver can face a fine of $25 to $100 and receive three penalty points on his driver license for each violation. 

• Seat belt use is not required in taxis or livery vehicles, emergency vehicles, 1964 or older vehicles or by passengers in buses (except school buses; seat belt use can be required by a school district). Rural Letter Carriers are also exempt when they are delivering mail. 

Every passenger under age 16 must use a safety restraint. If under age 4, persons must be correctly secured in a government approved child safety seat that is attached to a vehicle by a safe- ty belt or universal anchorage (LATCH) system. A child under age 4 who weighs more than 40 pounds can be restrained in a booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt. A child of age 4, 5, 6 or 

7 must use a booster seat with lap and shoul- der belt or a child safety seat (The child safety restraint system must meet the height and weight recommendations of the restraint manufacturer.) 

Exception:  A child more than 4 feet 9 inches in height or weighing more than 100 pounds is allowed to use a seat belt that has both a lap belt and a shoulder harness. If the seat belt does not fit correctly, the child must use a booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt. 

When you drive, you must make sure each person in your vehicle is properly restrained by a seat belt, child restraint system, or car seat. During a crash, a person not properly restrained becomes a flying object and a danger to each person in the vehicle. 

• For added protection, adjust your vehicle head rest, lock the doors and do not keep loose, heavy objects in the passenger area. Put them in the trunk. 

• Air bags are meant to work WITH seat belts, not to replace them. An air bag protects a front-seat occupant in a head-on crash by inflating on impact and providing a cushion so the occupant does not collide with the steering wheel, dashboard or windshield. The combination of a seat belt and an air bag offers maximum protection, partly be- cause they help the driver maintain control of the vehicle and help prevent secondary collisions. 

• Air bags engage (expand quickly) from the steering wheel and/or dashboard. Most adults who are correctly fastened are safer in a vehicle with air bags, but the pressure of an air bag as it opens could injure those who sit too close to it. You should sit with at least 10 inches between the center of your chest and the cover of the air bag. Place your hands on opposite sides of the steering wheel, at the 3 and 9 clock positions, to keep them away if the air bag engages. 

IMPORTANT: NEVER PUT AN INFANT IN A REAR-FACING CHILD SAFETY SEAT IN THE FRONT SEAT OF A VEHICLE THAT HAS A PASSENGER AIR BAG. 

