Title: Safety Belt Usage

Summary: Requires each passenger in motor vehicle or autocycle to be restrained by safety belt or child restraint device.

Full Text:
An act relating to safety belt usage; amending s. 316.614, F.S.; requiring each passenger in a motor vehicle or autocycle to be restrained by a safety belt or child restraint device; amending s. 316.613, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsections (6) through (10) of section 316.614, Florida Statutes, are re numbered as subsections (5) through (9), respectively, and present subsections (4) and (5) of that section are amended to read: 316.614 Safety belt usage.-(4) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful for any person:(a) to operat ea motor vehicle or an autocycle in this state unless the person and each passenger and the operator of the vehicle or autocycle under the age of years are restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device pursuant to s. 316.613, if applicable;or (b) To operate a motor vehicle or an autocycle in this state unless the person is restrained by a safety belt.(5) It is unlawful for any person years of age or older HB 2020 to be a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle or an autocycle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt when the vehicle or autocycle is in motion. Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 316.613, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 316.613 Child restraint requirements.-(1)(a) Every operato rof a motor vehicle as defined in this section, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if the child is years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device. 1. For children aged through years, such restraint device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child seat. 2. For children aged through years, a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat may be used. However, the requirement to use a child restraint device under this subparagraph does not apply when a safety belt is used as required in s. 316.614(4) s. 316.614(4)(a) and the child: a. Is being transported gratuitously by an operator who is not a member of the child's immediate family; b. Is being transported in a medical emergency situation involving the child; or HB 2020 c. Has a medical condition that necessitates an exception as evidenced by appropriate documentation from a health care professional. Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.