545.413. Safety belts; offense.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) is at least 15 years of age;
(2) is riding in the front seat of a passenger car while the vehicle is being operated;
(3) is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety belt; and
(4) is not secured by a safety belt.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) operates a passenger car or light truck that is equipped with safety belts; and
(2) allows a child who is at least four years of age but younger than 15 years of age to ride in the vehicle without requiring the child to be secured by a safety belt, provided the child is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety belt.
(c) A passenger car or a seat in a passenger car is considered to be equipped with a safety belt if the vehicle is required under Section 547.601 to be equipped with safety belts.
(d) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more than $50.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the person possesses a written statement from a licensed physician stating that for a medical reason the person should not wear a safety belt;
(2) the person presents to the court, not later than the 10th day after the date of the offense, a statement from a licensed physician stating that for a medical reason the person should not wear a safety belt;
(3) the person is employed by the United States Postal Service and performing a duty for that agency that requires the operator to service postal boxes from a vehicle or that requires frequent entry into and exit from a vehicle;
(4) the person is engaged in the actual delivery of newspapers from a vehicle or is performing newspaper delivery duties that require frequent entry into and exit from a vehicle; or
(5) the person is employed by a public or private utility company and is engaged in the reading of meters or performing a similar duty for that company requiring the operator to frequently enter into and exit from a vehicle.
(f) The department shall develop and implement an educational program to encourage the wearing of safety belts and to emphasize:
(1) the effectiveness of safety belts and other restraint devices in reducing the risk of harm to passengers in motor vehicles; and
(2) the requirements of this section and the penalty for noncompliance.
(g) Use or nonuse of a safety belt is not admissible evidence
in a civil trial, other than a proceeding under Subtitle A or B, Title 5, Family Code.
(h) In this section:
(1) “Passenger car” includes a truck with a manufacturer’s rated carrying capacity of not more than 1,500 pounds.
(2) “Safety belt” means a lap belt and any shoulder straps included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle.
(Added by L.1995, chap. 165(1); chgd. by L.1997, chap. 165(30.115(a)); L.1999, chaps. 316(1), 515(1), eff. 9/1/99.)
Back
SECTION 2. Subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), and (h), Section 2-13 545.413, Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows: 2-14 (a) A person commits an offense if the person: 2-15 (1) is at least 15 years of age; 2-16 (2) is riding in the front seat of a passenger vehicle 2-17 [car] while the vehicle is being operated; 2-18 (3) is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety 2-19 belt; and 2-20 (4) is not secured by a safety belt. 2-21 (b) A person commits an offense if the person: 2-22 (1) operates a passenger vehicle [car or light truck] 2-23 that is equipped with safety belts; and 2-24 (2) allows a child who is at least four years of age 2-25 but younger than 17 [15] years of age to ride in the vehicle 2-26 without requiring the child to be secured by a safety belt, 3-1 provided the child is occupying a seat that is equipped with a 3-2 safety belt. 3-3 (c) A passenger vehicle [car] or a seat in a passenger 3-4 vehicle [car] is considered to be equipped with a safety belt if 3-5 the vehicle is required under Section 547.601 to be equipped with 3-6 safety belts. 3-7 (e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that: 3-8 (1) the person possesses a written statement from a 3-9 licensed physician stating that for a medical reason the person 3-10 should not wear a safety belt; 3-11 (2) the person presents to the court, not later than 3-12 the 10th day after the date of the offense, a statement from a 3-13 licensed physician stating that for a medical reason the person 3-14 should not wear a safety belt; 3-15 (3) the person is employed by the United States Postal 3-16 Service and performing a duty for that agency that requires the 3-17 operator to service postal boxes from a vehicle or that requires 3-18 frequent entry into and exit from a vehicle; 3-19 (4) the person is engaged in the actual delivery of 3-20 newspapers from a vehicle or is performing newspaper delivery 3-21 duties that require frequent entry into and exit from a vehicle; 3-22 [or] 3-23 (5) the person is employed by a public or private 3-24 utility company and is engaged in the reading of meters or 3-25 performing a similar duty for that company requiring the operator 3-26 to frequently enter into and exit from a vehicle; or 4-1 (6) The person is operating a commercial vehicle 4-2 registered as a farm vehicle under the provisions of Section 4-3 502.163 that does not have a gross weight, registered weight, or 4-4 gross weight rating of 48,000 pounds or more. 4-5 (h) In this section, “passenger vehicle,” “safety belt,” and 4-6 “secured” have the meanings assigned by Section 545.412[:] 4-7 [(1) "Passenger car" includes a truck with a 4-8 manufacturer's rated carrying capacity of not more than 1,500 4-9 pounds.] 4-10 [(2) "Safety belt" means a lap belt and any shoulder 4-11 straps included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle].
SECTION 2. Section 545.413, Transportation Code, is amended
2-11 by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (i) and (j) to
2-12 read as follows:
2-13 (d) An offense under Subsection (a) [this section] is a
2-14 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more than
2-15 $50. An offense under Subsection (b) is a misdemeanor punishable
2-16 by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $200.
2-17 (i) A judge, acting under Article 45.0511, Code of Criminal
2-18 Procedure, who elects to defer further proceedings and to place a
2-19 defendant accused of a violation of Subsection (b) on probation
2-20 under that article, in lieu of requiring the defendant to complete
2-21 a driving safety course approved by the Texas Education Agency,
2-22 shall require the defendant to attend and present proof that the
2-23 defendant has successfully completed a specialized driving safety
2-24 course approved by the Texas Education Agency under the Texas
2-25 Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act (Article 4413(29c),
2-26 Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes) that includes four hours of
2-27 instruction that encourages the use of child passenger safety seat
3-1 systems and the wearing of seat belts and emphasizes:
3-2 (1) the effectiveness of child passenger safety seat
3-3 systems and seat belts in reducing the harm to children being
3-4 transported in motor vehicles; and
3-5 (2) the requirements of this section and the penalty
3-6 for noncompliance.
3-7 (j) Notwithstanding Section 542.402(a), a municipality or
3-8 county, at the end of the municipality’s or county’s fiscal year,
3-9 shall send to the comptroller an amount equal to 50 percent of the
3-10 fines collected by the municipality or the county for violations of
3-11 this section. The comptroller shall deposit the amount received to
3-12 the credit of the tertiary care fund for use by trauma centers.
3-13 SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
3-14 (b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
3-15 offense committed on or after September 1, 2001.
3-16 (c) An offense committed before September 1, 2001, is
3-17 covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
3-18 the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
3-19 purposes of this section, an offense was committed before September
3-20 1, 2001, if any element of the offense was committed before that
3-21 date.
Originally posted 2009-02-09 07:43:39.
Popularity: 1% [?]
