NY State Senate Bill 2015-S7781

Senate Bill S7781

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle with children under the age of 8 in the front seat in most cases

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation 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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 12, 2016	referred to transportation

2015-S7781 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5963
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1229-c, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: A4181
2011-2012: A6477
2013-2014: A1539
2017-2018: S2163, A3441
2019-2020: S1421, A5917
2021-2022: S3752, A753
2023-2024: A5667

2015-S7781 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle with children under the age of 8 in the front seat in most cases; makes limited exceptions.

2015-S7781 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7781

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to prohibiting children under the age of eight from riding as
a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle except under limited
circumstances

 PURPOSE :

The purpose of this legislation is to prohibit children under the age
of 8 from riding as a passenger in the front seat of a vehicle except
in certain cases.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Subdivisions 2, 5, 6, and 7 of section 1229-c of the
Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended to prohibit children under the age
of eight from riding as passengers in the front seat of a motor
vehicle with the following exceptions: (1) there are no rear seats;
(2) a child safety seat or booster seat cannot be properly installed
in the rear seat; (3) all rear seats are already occupied by other
occupants who are also under the age of eight; or if (4) medical
reasons necessitate the child should not ride in the rear seat.

Section 2: Provides the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Preventable injuries are the number one killer of children (ages 14
and under) across the country. According to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2013 an average of 3
children 14 and younger were killed and an estimated 470 were injured
in traffic crashes every day in the United States.

Experts agree that children are safest when buckled up in the back
seat. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that retraining
children between the ages of 4 to 8 in rear seats rather than front
seats reduced their risk of fatal injury by nearly half.  The back
seat location provides greater protection for the head on collisions,
the most serious type of crash, by removing children away from the
point of impact.

New York State now requires all children up to age 16 to wear seat
belts in both front and rear seats, while children under age 8 must be
also properly restrained in a car seat or booster seat. Child
passenger safety can be strengthened by requiring young children to
sit in the rear seat. Furthermore, this bill allows flexibility for
large families and/or parents who may be transporting other children.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S.4773 (2011-12): Referred to Transportation
S .2238-A (2009-10): Referred to Transportation
S.281-A (2007-08): Referred to Transportation
S.3908-A (2005-06): Referred to Transportation
S.6910 (2004): Referred to Transportation

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law, provided that any person who
violates the provisions of subdivision 2-a of section 1229-c of the
Vehicle and Traffic Law, as added by section two of this act within
the twelve months following such effective date, shall be subject to a
warning but shall not be issued an appearance ticket and shall not be
liable for a fine.

2015-S7781 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  7781

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 12, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  SERINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to  prohibiting
  children  under  the  age  of  eight from riding as a passenger in the
  front seat of a motor vehicle except under limited circumstances

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivisions 2, 5, 6 and 7 of section 1229-c of the vehicle
and  traffic  law, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of
2005, paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 and subdivision  6  as  amended  by
chapter 405 of the laws of 2009, subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 448
of  the  laws of 2015, subdivision 7 as added by chapter 365 of the laws
of 1984, are amended to read as follows:
  2. No person shall operate a  motor  vehicle  unless  all  front  seat
passengers (a) under the age of sixteen are restrained by a safety belt;
or  (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 the
event that the weight of such passenger under the age  of  four  exceeds
forty  pounds,  such  passenger  may be 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 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; or (c)  if  they  are
age  four  or older but under age eight, (i) are restrained in an appro-
priate child restraint system as defined in  subdivision  four  of  this
section  used  with combination lap safety 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 the combination lap safety and shoulder harness belts are being used
to properly restrain other passengers who are under the age of  sixteen.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00137-03-6

S. 7781                             2

NOTHING  CONTAINED  IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE DEEMED TO SUPERSEDE THE
REQUIREMENTS OF SUBDIVISION TWO-A OF THIS SECTION.
  5.  Any  person  who  violates  the provisions of subdivision three or
ten-a of this section shall be punished by a civil fine of up  to  fifty
dollars. Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision one, two,
TWO-A,  eleven  or thirteen of this section shall be punished by a civil
fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars.  In
any  prosecution  or proceeding alleging a violation of paragraph (b) of
subdivision one or paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section,  it
shall  be  an  affirmative  defense  that  the  passenger subject to the
requirements of such paragraphs was restrained  by  a  safety  belt  and
measures  more  than  four feet nine inches in height and/or weighs more
than one hundred pounds.
  6. The court shall waive any fine for which a person who violates  the
provisions  of  this  section would be liable with respect to passengers
under the age of eight if such person  supplies  the  court  with  proof
that,  between the date on which he is charged with having violated this
section and the appearance date for  such  violation,  he  purchased  or
rented a child restraint system which meets the requirements of subdivi-
sion  one  of  this section. Provided, however, that such waiver of fine
shall not apply to a second or subsequent conviction under this section,
NOR A VIOLATION OF SUBDIVISION TWO-A OF THIS SECTION.
  7. The provisions of this section shall not apply to  a  passenger  or
operator with a physically disabling condition whose physical disability
would  prevent appropriate restraint in such safety seat or safety belt,
OR TO A PASSENGER UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHT WHOSE PHYSICAL CONDITION NECES-
SITATES THAT SUCH PASSENGER BE SEATED IN THE FRONT SEAT FOR  MEDICAL  OR
SAFETY REASONS, provided, however, THAT such condition is duly certified
by  a  physician who shall state the nature of the [handicap] DISABILITY
OR CONDITION, as well as the reason  such  restraint  is  OR  REAR  SEAT
PLACEMENT IS inappropriate.
  S  2.  Section  1229-c  of  the  vehicle and traffic law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
  2-A. NO PERSON SHALL OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE WITH ANY PASSENGERS UNDER
THE AGE OF EIGHT SEATED IN THE FRONT SEAT OF SUCH  VEHICLE.    PROVIDED,
HOWEVER,  THAT SUCH PROHIBITION SHALL NOT APPLY IF: (A) SUCH MOTOR VEHI-
CLE IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH REAR SEATS; OR (B) THE REAR SEAT CANNOT  ACCOM-
MODATE  THE PROPER INSTALLATION OF THE CHILD SAFETY SEAT OR BOOSTER SEAT
IN WHICH SUCH PASSENGER IS  BEING  TRANSPORTED,  AS  DETERMINED  BY  THE
COMMISSIONER,  OR  VEHICLE MANUFACTURER, OR CHILD SAFETY SEAT OR BOOSTER
SEAT MANUFACTURER; OR (C) ALL OTHER SEAT POSITIONS ARE OCCUPIED BY OTHER
OCCUPANTS WHO ARE UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHT; OR (D)  SUCH  PASSENGER  UNDER
AGE  EIGHT  IS EXEMPT PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION SEVEN OF
THIS SECTION.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
ing  the  date  on  which  it shall have become a law; provided that any
person who violates the provisions of subdivision 2-a of section  1229-c
of  the  vehicle  and  traffic  law, as added by section two of this act
within the twelve months following such effective date, shall be subject
to a warning but shall not be issued an appearance ticket and shall  not
be liable for a fine.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.