All drivers, especially those with passengers under the age of 16, should keep reading this article to familiarize themselves with New York State’s Occupant Restraint Law.[1]

New York is what is referred to as a “primary enforcement” state. This means a law enforcement officer can issue you a ticket for failure to wear your seat belt or to a driver who fails to make sure that a child passenger is properly secured by a seat belt or child safety seat.[2] This law also applies to out-of-state drivers.

Police checkpoints at highway on-ramps, toll booths, and other places are more prevalent than ever these days, and may result in unwanted tickets, fines, and points on your license for a failure to buckle up.

Key points of the law include:

• All front-seat passengers must wear a seat belt.
• The driver and front-seat passenger aged 16 or older can be fined up to $50 for each failure wear a seat belt.
• Each passenger under the age of 16 must wear a seat belt or use an appropriate, federally-approved child restraint system.
• The driver must ensure that each passenger under age 16 obeys the law.
• The driver can be fined $25 to $100 and receive three driver license penalty points for each violation.[3]

For more information or for a free legal consultation regarding any New York traffic violation, please contact my office.