SS/SB 121 - This act makes four changes to the seat belt law aimed at increasing passenger safety:

SEAT BELTS FOR CHILDREN: All passengers in a car, age 4 through age 15, must wear seat belts, whether they sit in the front or back seat. Current law only requires child passengers to be fastened when they sit in the front seat. Recreational vehicles are exempt from this provision.

PRIMARY ENFORCEMENT: A driver violating the seat belt law may be stopped for that violation alone. This is commonly known as primary enforcement. Currently, nine states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico have primary enforcement laws. A driver shall receive three written warnings from law enforcement of a seat belt violation before being subject to an infraction for a subsequent violation. The primary enforcement provisions shall terminate on August 28, 1999.

SEAT BELTS IN PICKUP TRUCKS: All drivers and front seat passengers of pickup trucks are required to wear seat belts. Currently, 40 states require seat belt use in pickups.

NO RIDING BY MINORS IN OPEN BED OF PICKUPS: No driver of a pickup truck who is: 1) over age 25 with a passenger under age 15 in the truck bed; or 2) under age 25 with a passenger under age 18 in the truck bed, may transport such passenger in the bed of a pickup truck, except when such passenger is one of the following: 1) an employee engaged in necessary duties; 2) a person transporting unprocessed agricultural products; 3) a person riding in the open bed during a parade or caravan; 4) a person who is secured in the bed of the truck; 5) a person participating in a "special event" (defined); 6) a person who is providing assistance to, or ensuring the safety of, other persons engaged in recreational activity; or 7) a person riding in the bed as a result of a natural disaster or medical emergency.

A driver who operates a truck in violation of this provision is guilty of an infraction.

MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTIONS: A purchaser of a motor vehicle shall have such vehicle inspected one time. Under current law, such vehicle is subject to annual inspections.

This act is similar to SB 520 from 1996.

JAMES KLAHR