In 1984, when New York became the first state to impose a seat belt law, motorists complained that the law diminished their freedoms and others argued that they actually made them less safe. Now years later, most people readily embrace wearing seat belt laws. In fact, it is surprisingly to me that some people fail to wear them. I personally feel uncomfortable until I buckle mine.
The statistics are impressive. Lap and harness belt in motor vehicles saved 12,802 lives in 2014, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administraiton.
In New York, an adult seat belt ticket carries 0 points and roughly a $100 fine. However, while child seat belt tickets carry roughly the same fine amount, they also carry 3 points on the driver’s license. Yet we still see a fair amount of motorist ticketed for violating the seat belt laws. Further, it is not uncommon for a motorist pulled over for this violation to be ticketed for one or more additional things.
Therefore, for you and your family’s safety (and to avoid troublesome tickets), do not forget to wear your seat belts.
The full text for the New York seat belt law is below.
§1229-c. Operation of vehicles with safety seats and safety belts.
1. No person shall operate a motor vehicle in this state unless: (a) all back seat passengers of such vehicle under the age of four are restrained in a specially designed seat which meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213 and which is either permanently affixed or is affixed to such vehicle by a safety belt, 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 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;
(b) all back seat passengers of such vehicle who are age four or older but under age seven (i) are restrained in an appropriate child restraint system as defined in subdivision four of this section used with combination lap 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; or
(b) all back seat passengers of such vehicle who are age four or older but under age eight (i) are restrained in an appropriate child restraint system as defined in subdivision four of this section used with combination lap 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; or
(c) in the case of any other back seat passenger under the age of sixteen, he or she is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner.
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 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; or (c) if they are age four or older but under age seven, (i) are restrained 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) 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.
3. No person shall operate a motor vehicle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner. No person sixteen years of age or over shall be a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner.
3-a. Except as otherwise provided for passengers under the age of four, it shall be a violation of this section if a person is seated in a seating position equipped with both a lap safety belt and a shoulder harness belt and such person is not restrained by both such lap safety belt and shoulder harness belt.
3-a. No person holding a class DJ learner’s permit or class DJ license issued pursuant to section five hundred two of this chapter, or a limited class DJ or MJ license issued pursuant to section five hundred three-a of this chapter, shall operate a motor vehicle in this state unless such person is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner, and all passengers under the age of four are restrained in a specially designed seat which meets the federal motor vehicle safety standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213 and which is either permanently affixed or is affixed to such vehicle by a safety belt and, in the case of any other passenger under the age of sixteen, he or she is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner. No person sixteen years of age or over shall be a passenger in a motor vehicle operated by a person holding a class DJ learner’s permit, a class DJ license or a limited class DJ license unless such passenger is restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner.
4. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (a) “motor vehicle” shall include all motor vehicles which are required by section three hundred eighty-three of this chapter or regulation or would be required if such motor vehicle were registered in New York state to be equipped by a safety belt but shall not include those vehicles which are used as school buses, as such term is defined in section one hundred forty-two of this chapter and those vehicles which are authorized emergency vehicles, as such term is defined in section one hundred one of this chapter; (b) “child restraint system” shall mean any device, used in conjunction with safety belts, designed for use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position children and which meets the applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213; and (c) “appropriate child restraint system” shall mean a child restraint system for which the occupant meets the occupant size and weight recommendations of the manufacturer of such system.
Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision three 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, 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 seven 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 subdivision one of this section. Provided, however, that such waiver of fine shall not apply to a second or subsequent conviction under 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 provided, however, such condition is duly certified by a physician who shall state the nature of the handicap, as well as the reason such restraint is inappropriate.
8. Non-compliance with the provisions of this section shall not be admissible as evidence in any civil action in a court of law in regard to the issue of liability but may be introduced into evidence in mitigation of damages provided the party introducing said evidence has pleaded such non-compliance as an affirmative defense.
9. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four, this section shall not apply to taxis, liveries, and buses other than school buses.
10. The provisions of this section shall not apply to persons employed as rural letter carriers, as defined by the United States postal service, while such persons are discharging the duties of such employment.
11. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section, no person shall operate a school bus unless all passengers under the age of four are restrained in a specially designed detachable or removable seat as required by subdivision one of this section, or another restraining device approved by the commissioner.
12. (a) Every rental vehicle company, as defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section three hundred ninety-six-z of the general business law, shall post a sign in their place of business which states in conspicuous lettering of at least seventy-two point boldface type: NEW YORK STATE LAW REQUIRES ALL CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF SEVEN TO BE RESTRAINED IN A FEDERALLY APPROVED CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM. (b) Such sign shall be placed in an upright position and in a conspicuous place where it can easily be read by the clientele of the rental vehicle company. (c) Any rental vehicle company which violates the provisions of this subdivision shall be subject to a civil penalty, not to exceed one hundred dollars for each day of violation.
13. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section, no person shall operate a school bus for which there are no applicable federal school bus safety standards unless all occupants are restrained by a safety belt approved by the commissioner or, regarding occupants age four or older but under age seven, are restrained pursuant to subdivision one or two of this section.
50 Comments. Leave new
In NY State a trooper can pull you over for not wearing a seat belt as he’s going in the opposite direction and turns around and comes after you ? Don’t they have to have a reason other than the seat belt infraction before issuing no seat belt ticket ?
John Costa,
Yes, he can pull you over if a police officer sees you failing to wear a seat belt. No other reason is needed.
Matthew Weiss
Should we fight a traffic ticket when the quoted law 1229c1c does not appear applicable ?
My son was in the cargo area of an suv obviously not buckled in. He is 17 and a half. The traffic law quoted on the ticket 1229c1c appears to relate to a driver/operator who has apassenger who is between the ages of eight and 15 and is not properly belted, my son is was not driving the car and obviously he’s older than 15 and so were all other occupants. I am not a lawyer and I’ve never been to court but I assume even though he was not wearing a seat belt the officer incorrectly use this law to ticket him even though there is actually another law that is more applicable 1229C3 , can you give us any tips on how to go about defending this situation at the courts.
Regards
Nick.
Nicholas,
If the wrong section of law is written on the ticket (assuming you are correct), the prosecutor can amend it to the proper one.
Matthew Weiss
Thank you Matthew for your quick response, one assumes then that is exactly what they will do, In this case its worth arguing the toss as I understand operating a vehicle with passengers un-belted is more serious regarding insurance and fines than simply being un-belted.
thanks again.
Nicholas,
It is a 0-point ticket (and your son was obviously not properly wearing in a seat belt), I wouldn’t put much effort into fighting it.
Matthew Weiss
I was driving in brooklyn ny with a personal car on a open road. Me and my other passengers were all buckled in our seatbelts correctly but when a police officer was pulling me over, I stopped to the side of the road and put my vehicle in park. Then I took off my seatbelt because I had to get my driver`s license in my right pocket and the seatbelt was preventing me from doing so. When the officer came to the car, he said that I wasn`t wearing a seatbelt and gave me a ticket for it. Can I fight against this ticket?
Kodi,
You can fight this seat belt ticket. Keep in mind, however, that adult seat belt tickets do no carry any points.
Matthew Weiss
my husband received notice in the mail that his license was going to be suspended for failure of a paying a fine on a seatbelt ticket from 7.5 years ago…. after searching for the ticket by the # in the DMV database- nothing could be found- i was just wondering if there was a statute of limitations on something like this or if they will have to provide supporting dispositions in order to “prosecute”
Sydney,
There is no statute of limitations for traffic tickets in New York.
Matthew Weiss
a new york strooper was at the bottom of a hill and came out to follow me after traffic passed both ways. when i stopped after he passed 4 cars and came to me he said “it appeared you were not wearing a seat belt but i was … he saw it when he approached.
BC,
An adult seat belt tickets carries 0 points and roughly a $250 fine.
You can fight the case but it will be your word against that of the officer (a uphill battle).
Matthew Weiss
I received an adult No Seat Belt ticket (section 1229C3) while driving solo towards NYC on the Taconic State Parkway on July 5, 2020. According to the officer who issued me the ticket, No Seat Belt is not considered a moving violation and is equivalent to a parking ticket. Was he right about that?
I know for sure that this violation doesn’t incur any points on my driving record. What I wasn’t sure about is whether the violation appears on my NYS driving abstract, and also whether my car insurance company will know that I was guilty of this violation. Even if the violation doesn’t incur any points, the insurance company will still hold it against me.
Henry Dillman,
An adult seat belt ticket carries 0 points. A conviction to this charge will appear, however, on your driving record. It will not, alone, affect your auto rates.
I was visiting upstate NY to see my son, and on the way home was pulled over. I had no idea why!? The officer told me I was wearing my seatbelt ‘improperly’. As I am 5’4″, I have for 55 years put my shoulder restraint under my arm as it otherwise cuts into my neck. I have a completely clean record, and was told that a warning wouldn’t be issues as there is “zero tolerance” for such a thing. How does ANYBODY that this would be improper use of a seatbelt??? I’ve never seen a PSA, and it wasn’t addressed when I got my license. Three hours later upon arriving home, I see that on the ticket he wrote “No seat belt – Improper wearing”. I could find nowhere on the internet what the ticket price is, and it isn’t on the ticket – just a plea option of guilty or not. It states that the fine will be fixed by the court. My question… does anyone know this fine amount, and is the silly law really considered a “zero tolerance” issue? Any suggestions would be appreciated with any contact information that I might be able to use. Many thanks!
Lisa,
My suggestion is to start wearing your seat belt in the manner in which it was designed.
The fine for this ticket is roughly $150 to $200.
Matthew Weiss
Hi,I received a no seat belt driver 1229-c(3) in New York,and i have class A driver license from New Jersey,this carry points?my company will know about this ticket?This will affect my classA?
Javier,
An adult seat belt tickets carries 0 points in New York (we do not practice in New Jersey cannot answer about NJ law).
Matthew Weiss
I was issued a no seatbelt ticket at a checkpoint in New York state. They took my driver’s license obviously but I was in a company vehicle. The ticket is issued to me with all my information. Is there anyway my company can find out if I just plead guilty and pay. I have another question but will wait to see if i get a response. Thank you for taking a moment out time. Have a nice night.
Anthony,
Because moving violations (such as no seat belt) are directed to your driver’s license (not the registration), this is not a matter of which the registered owner of the vehicle will generally learn.
Matthew Weiss
I wonder if I could claim ptsd for not wearing a seatbelt? Could I get a note from a doctor? I was trapped in a seatbelt once before in an accident and am petrified of going underwater in a car and being trapped!
Debra,
We doubt it.
Matthew Weiss
As a grown adult I should be able to decide for myself whether I will wear a seatbelt or not! The decision should be mine!!! Stupid law giving police any reason at all to pull a person over for doing nothing else wrong!
Debra,
Thanks for sharing your views on this proposed new laws.
Matthew Weiss
I got seat belt ticket in Manhattan NY. I was wearing seat belt but it happened to be below my shoulder at the moment. Police pulled me over and gave me the ticket for no seat belt though I was clearly wearing the seat belt. I have the video for the whole trip. Can I win the case?
Anil Ghimire,
It sounds like you were not wearing it properly so this one will be tough to win.
Matthew Weiss
I was reversing out of the Starbucks parking lot and putting my seatbelt at the same time , before I started driving in the main road . I got pulled over and the cop saying he observed be when he was passing by that I was putting my seatbelt on and reversing
Metita,
Sounds like you are guilty given that you were operating your car in reverse without it on.
Matthew Weiss
I was in my car for three minutes going to work and the officer pulls me over. Like this such bs. people have jobs. Of course it 1/31/20 there giving tickets for free.
Lewis Fitch,
So sorry to hear about your ticket. The good news is that an adult seat ticket carries 0 points.
Matthew Weiss
i got two tickets one for no licensed and the other one for no seat belt they gave a a date until january can i go after the date or should i wait
i also wanted to know how much it cost for no seat belt in NY
i have my licensed now do i still will have to pay for it
giselle cruz,
The fine for a seat belt is roughy $150-$200. Getting your license after-the-fact does not provide a defense to your un-licensed ticket.
Matthew Weiss
I was fine for obstruction of an intersection getting the green light but I got stuck in a traffic jam and I could not ever reverse . can i fight it w evidence
Fernanda,
From what you write, it sounds like you entered the intersection illegally (i.e., entering before there was sufficient room beyond the far crosswalk to accommodate your vehicle).
Matthew Weiss
yes, and i was stuck in a jam at a green light without an option to reverse and not do one of the things i don’t like ( obstructing an intersection)
it was a green light and traffic was moving till i was stuck half way
Fernanda,
It is illegal to enter an intersection before there was sufficient room beyond the far crosswalk to accommodate your vehicle. If you follow this rule of law, you can never get “stuck”.
Matthew Weiss
if traffic is flowing and then you’re stuck at the green because of unforeseen traffic and unable to reverse,then ran up on my ticket agents fining to look to reach their quote. the city is about money and you seen to be a typical lawyer. excuse me but thanks for the info
Hi –I am a C D L -A – holder licensed in Ma. —Saturday I was pulled over in New Lebanon N Y while driving my personal car for not wearing my seatbelt –ticket says –no seat belt –When the officer approached my car I did have the seat belt on as I put it in as soon as I noticed him coming after me –I have a completely clean driving record for 30 years — should I plead guilty or not guilty and fight the violation– thanks Ed
Edward F Kelley,
in NY an adult seat belt ticket is considered a relatively minor offense. It carries 0 points and roughly a $175 fine.
From what you write, it appears that the police officer observed you not wearing your seat belt and, then, pulled you over. Putting it on as he’s coming after you is not a valid defense.
Matthew Weiss
I was pulled over for improper use of seatbelt but received a ticket stating “No Seat Belt Driver”. Can I fight this and win? Or just pay the ticket?
Janet,
That discrepancy does not sound very helpful, in my opinion. Because adult seat belt tickets carry 0 points in NYS, you may want to just pay this one.
Matthew Weiss
TODAY I WAS WITH A FRIEND IN HIS CART I WAS A COPILOT AND STOPPED A POLICE AND I PUT A FINE TO MY NAME BECAUSE I DIDN’T POSITION THE SEAT BELT, WITH THE DATA FROM MY FRIEND’S CART … MY QUESTION HOW MUCH MUST I PAY FOR THE TICKET ?? … I CAN FIGHT IT … HOW MUCH THE FINE IS
maiker alejandro tovar reyes,
The fine will be roughly $150. It sounds like you are guilty from what you write. You can still fight it but it sounds like an uphill battle to beat this one.
Matthew Weiss
If the driver get a 2nd second no seat belt ticket dose the driver license get Point on there record. First no seat belt ticket was about a year ago?
Jose,
A New York adult seat belt tickets never carries points (only a child seat belt tickets which carries 3).
Matthew Weiss
I had buckled my daughters (5 & 7)in their car seat & booster seat. As I was driving passed an avenue a police patrol car was parked at the corner and as soon as I passed I hear the sirens stopping me. The officer comes requests papers and as I was looking for them he notifies me he has a body cam on him. So I continue to look for the papers. He then tells me “Did you notice your child does not have her seatbelt on properly?” I turn around and see she took it off and as the police officer stopped me she just placed on the arm rest instead of latching it on the buckle. (I was angry as you can only imagine)
I later explained that she took it off I can’t do anything about it. He said that I should have her wear the over the shoulder harness, but I explained that I had switched it to the over the shoulder seat belt because she cries for the entire trip home (1hour). I have the ticket $138 &3 points. Can I fight this?
Glenda,
You can fight it but it sounds like it will be very hard to win. Good luck!
Matthew Weiss
Info on this site needs to be updated.
Children under age 8 (not 4) need to be in a child safety seat.
Al Cinamon,
Thanks for your feedback. If you read the entire text of 1229-c, it states that all children must be properly restrained (although the age varies in how).
Matthew Weiss