Opinion ID: 2052424
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Heading: The Seat Belt Law.

Text: Iowa's mandatory seat belt law provides in part: The driver and front seat occupants of a type of motor vehicle which is subject to registration in Iowa, except a motorcycle or a motorized bicycle, shall each wear a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt or safety harness any time the vehicle is in forward motion on a street or highway in this state except that a child under six years of age shall be secured as required under section 321.446. Iowa Code § 321.445(2). Section 321.445(2) exempts the following persons from complying with the seat belt provision: (a) the driver or front seat occupants of a motor vehicle not required to be equipped with safety belts under rules adopted by the state department of transportation; (b) the driver or front seat occupants of a motor vehicle who are actively engaged in work that requires frequent exits from and reentries into the vehicle, provided that the vehicle does not exceed twenty-five miles per hour between stops; (c) rural postal drivers at certain points in their deliveries; (d) passengers on a bus; (e) a person possessing a written certification from a physician that the person is unable to wear a seat belt because of physical or medical reasons; and (f) front seat occupants, except the driver, of an authorized emergency vehicle while such occupants are being transported in an emergency. See Iowa Code § 321.445(2)(a)-(f). Although not specifically exempted, back seat passengers are not required by section 321.445(2) to wear seat belts. The driver and front seat passengers may be charged separately for failing to wear a seat belt. See Iowa Code § 321.445(3). Evidence of such failure, however, is not admissible or material as evidence in a civil action for damages arising before July 1, 1986. Thereafter, such evidence is admissible to mitigate damages. See Iowa Code § 321.445(4)(a), (b). A violation of section 321.445(2) is subject to a ten-dollar fine but does not subject the violator to the habitual offender provisions of Iowa Code section 321.555. See Iowa Code §§ 321.482, 321.555(2), 805.8(2)(c). Before proceeding to the constitutional issues raised, we wish to emphasize that our task is not to question the wisdom or necessity of this legislation. Rather, our task is to determine whether the legislation passes constitutional muster. See 2 R.D. Rotunda, J.E. Nowak & J.N. Young, Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure § 14.6, at 14 (1986) (hereinafter cited as Rotunda).