State Laws
49 states and the District of Columbia have mandatory safety belt laws (New Hampshire is the only state without an adult belt law) yet only 24 jurisdictions and the District of Columbia have primary, also known as standard, enforcement. Primary enforcement safety belt laws allow police officers to stop and ticket a driver for not wearing a safety belt alone. The remaining states have secondary safety belt laws that allow law enforcement to ticket a driver for not wearing a safety belt only after the person has been stopped, or ticketed, for another violation.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have child restraint laws. These are all primary laws except in certain provisions for older children in Colorado, Nebraska and Pennsylvania.
Ideally, safety belt and child restraint laws should cover all occupants, in all seating positions and in all vehicles. However, many states fall far short of offering the best protection for vehicle occupants due to significant gaps and exemptions. Individual state laws are listed below, but here are best practices for your safety:
- Adults should wear a properly positioned safety belt at all times;
- All children age 12 and under should ride properly restrained in a rear seat;
- Infants should be in a rear-facing safety seat until they have reached at least one year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds (in a safety seat that accommodates higher rear-facing weights, the child should remain rear-facing until reaching the maximum weight for the safety seat);
- Children older than one year, who are between 20 and 40 pounds, should be in a forward-facing safety seat;
- Children who have exceeded the height or weight limit for their forward-facing safety seat, and are less than 4'9" tall should be in a belt-positioning booster seat until the safety belt fits correctly;
- Children should be in a properly adjusted safety belt when the shoulder belt can be positioned across the chest with the lap belt low and snug across the thighs;