BILL NUMBER:S3733

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation
to the use of seatbelts by volunteer firefighters

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL:  This legislation relates to the
use of seatbelts in emergency vehicles owned or operated by a volunteer
fire company or volunteer ambulance service.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill adds a new subdivision 14 to § 1229-c of the Vehi-
cle & Traffic Law to prohibit the operation of an emergency vehicle
owned or operated by a volunteer fire company or volunteer ambulance
service as defined by section 100 of the General Municipal Law unless
all passengers seated in the vehicle are utilizing safety belts or
restraint systems as provided by the vehicle manufacturer.  This subdi-
vision shall not apply: to vehicles which do not have restraint systems
provided by the manufacturer, for volunteer firefighters not seated
within the confines of the vehicle or to emergency medical personnel
administering medical treatment in accordance with applicable patient
care standards or guidelines established pursuant to Article 30 of the
Public Health Law to a patient in the rear compartment of an ambulance.
It prohibits a claim for benefits filed pursuant to the volunteer fire-
fighters' benefit law or the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit from
being denied solely on the basis of failure to comply with the
              

provisions of this subdivision.

Section 2 of the bill is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:  In 1984, NYS adopted § 1229-c of the NYS Vehicle & Traf-
fic Law. This law sets forth the rules for operation of vehicles that
have safety or seat belts. In general, this law requires operators and
passengers of "motor vehicles" to be restrained by safety belts. Howev-
er, certain vehicles are exempt from the law's requirements. Under
1229-c, "authorized emergency vehicles" are exempt from the definition
of the term "motor vehicle", These vehicles were excluded from the
requirements of § 1229-c since the operators of these vehicles need to
perform their duties in an unhampered fashion. The term "authorized
emergency vehicle" is defined under § 101 of the Vehicle & Traffic Law
and is defined to include fire and ambulance vehicles. As a result, fire
and ambulance vehicles are exempt from the requirement to use safety or
seatbelts.

The single largest cause of Volunteer Firefighter and EMS responder
death is vehicle accidents to and from an incident scene. The largest
contributor to those deaths is failure to wear seat belts, Volunteers
would like the current exemption removed from the law making New York
law consistent with the training and operational procedures currently in
place to promote seat belt use.

Use of seat belts promotes safety and saves lives. Since buckling a seat
belt takes just a few seconds, fire and ambulance vehicles should be
required to use them,. This bill is strongly supported by the Fireman's
Association of the State of New York,

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  2011-12: S.4765A Passed Senate 2011; remained in
Cmte 2012 2009-10: A.6765/S.3671 2008-07: S.7478

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately.