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H0303.....................................................by WAYS AND MEANS MOTOR VEHICLE RESTRAINTS - Amends existing law to require motor vehicle occupants to wear safety restraints; to provide that citations may be issued to adult occupants who fail to wear safety restraints; to provide that a citation may be issued to the motor vehicle operator if any minor occupant fails to wear a safety restraint; to provide for increased fines; to limit application for purposes of violation points and insurance rates; and to provide that enforcement may be accomplished only as a secondary action. 02/26 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/27 Rpt prt - to Transp 03/05 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 03/06 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/10 3rd rdg - PASSED - 52-16-2 AYES -- Andersen, Barraclough, Bauer, Bedke, Bell, Bieter, Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Campbell, Cannon, Cuddy, Deal, Douglas, Edmunson, Ellsworth, Field(18), Field(23), Garrett, Henbest, Jaquet, Jones, Kellogg, Langford, Langhorst, Martinez, McGeachin, Meyer, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Naccarato, Nielsen, Ridinger, Ring, Ringo, Roberts, Robison, Rydalch, Sayler, Shepherd, Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Trail, Wills, Mr. Speaker NAYS -- Barrett, Bradford, Clark, Collins, Crow, Denney, Eberle, Harwood, Kulczyk, Lake, McKague, Raybould, Sali, Schaefer, Tilman, Wood Absent and excused -- Eskridge, Gagner Floor Sponsor - Wills Title apvd - to Senate 03/11 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Transp 03/14 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 03/17 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/19 3rd rdg - PASSED - 29-4-2 AYES -- Andreason, Bailey, Bunderson, Burkett, Burtenshaw, Calabretta, Cameron, Compton, Darrington, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Hill, Ingram, Kennedy, Keough, Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McKenzie, McWilliams, Noh, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stegner, Stennett, Werk, Williams NAYS -- Noble, Pearce, Richardson, Sweet Absent and excused -- Brandt, Davis Floor Sponsor - Little Title apvd - to House 03/20 To enrol 03/21 Rpt enrol - Sp signed 03/24 Pres signed 03/25 To Governor 03/31 Governor signed Session Law Chapter 183 Effective: 07/01/03
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 303 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO SAFETY RESTRAINT USE; AMENDING SECTION 49-673, IDAHO CODE, TO 3 REQUIRE MOTOR VEHICLE OCCUPANTS TO WEAR SAFETY RESTRAINTS, TO PROVIDE THAT 4 A CITATION MAY BE ISSUED TO OCCUPANTS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER WHO 5 FAIL TO WEAR SAFETY RESTRAINTS, TO PROVIDE THAT A CITATION MAY BE ISSUED 6 TO THE MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATOR IF THE OPERATOR IS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR 7 OLDER AND ANY OCCUPANT UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE FAILS TO WEAR A SAFETY 8 RESTRAINT, TO PROVIDE FOR A FINE OF TEN DOLLARS, TO APPORTION THE FINE, TO 9 PROVIDE THAT A CITATION MAY BE ISSUED TO THE OPERATOR OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE 10 IF THE OPERATOR IS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND THE OPERATOR OR ANY 11 OTHER OCCUPANT WHO IS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE FAILS TO WEAR A SAFETY 12 RESTRAINT, TO PROVIDE FOR A FINE OF TEN DOLLARS PLUS COURT COSTS, TO 13 APPORTION THE FINE, TO STATE THAT VIOLATIONS CONSTITUTE A SINGLE VIOLA- 14 TION, TO LIMIT APPLICATION FOR PURPOSES OF VIOLATION POINTS AND INSURANCE 15 RATES, TO PROVIDE THAT ENFORCEMENT MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED ONLY AS A SECONDARY 16 ACTION, TO PROVIDE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 18 SECTION 1. That Section 49-673, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 19 amended to read as follows: 20 49-673. SAFETY RESTRAINT USE. (1) Except as provided in section 49-672, 21 Idaho Code, and subsection (2)(b)of this section, each occupantof the front22seatof a motor vehicle which has a gross vehicle weight of not more than 23 eight thousand (8,000) pounds, and which was manufactured with safetybelts24 restraints in compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, 25 shall have a safetybeltrestraint properly fastened about his body at all 26 times when the vehicle is in motion. 27 (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to: 28 (a) An occupant of a motor vehicle who possesses a written statement from 29 a licensed physician that he is unable for medical reasons to wear a 30 safetybeltrestraint; 31 (b) Occupants of motorcycles, implements of husbandry and emergency vehi- 32 cles; 33 (c) Occupants ofthe frontseats of a motor vehicle in which all safety 34beltsrestraints are then properly in use by other occupants of that vehi- 35 cle; or 36 (d) Mail carriers. 37 (3)If a person is convicted of a violation of any traffic law, other38than a violation of the provisions of sections 49-1229 or 49-1230, Idaho Code,39relating to proof of liability insurance, it shall be an additional infraction40for any person to violate the provisions of this section, for which a fine of41five(a) A citation may be issued to: 42 (i) Any occupant of the motor vehicle aged eighteen (18) years or 43 older who fails to wear a safety restraint as required in this sec- 2 1 tion; and 2 (ii) The operator of the motor vehicle if the operator is aged eigh- 3 teen (18) years or older and any occupant under eighteen (18) years 4 of age fails to wear a safety restraint as required in this section. 5 For purposes of this paragraph (a)(ii), it shall be deemed a single 6 violation regardless of the number of occupants not properly 7 restrained. 8 (b) A person issued a citation pursuant to this subsection shall be sub- 9 ject to a fine of ten dollars ($510.00),shall be imposedwith five dol- 10 lars ($5.00) of such fine to be apportioned to the catastrophic health 11 care cost fund, as set forth in section 57-813, Idaho Code. A conviction 12 under this subsection shall not result in violation point counts as pre- 13 scribed in section 49-326, Idaho Code, nor shall such a conviction be 14 deemed to be a moving traffic violation for the purpose of establishing 15 rates of motor vehicle insurance charged by a casualty insurer. 16 (4) A citation may be issued to the operator of the motor vehicle if the 17 operator is under eighteen (18) years of age and the operator or any other 18 occupant who is under eighteen (18) years of age fails to wear a safety 19 restraint as required in this section. For purposes of this subsection, it 20 shall be deemed a single violation regardless of the number of occupants not 21 properly restrained. A person issued a citation pursuant to this subsection 22 shall be subject to a fine of ten dollars ($10.00), five dollars ($5.00) of 23 such fine to be apportioned to the catastrophic health care cost fund as set 24 forth in section 57-813, Idaho Code, plus court costs. A conviction under this 25 subsection shall not result in violation point counts as prescribed in section 26 49-326, Idaho Code. In addition, a conviction under this subsection shall not 27 be deemed to be a moving traffic violation for the purpose of establishing 28 rates of motor vehicle insurance charged by a casualty insurer. 29 (5) Enforcement of this section by law enforcement officers may be accom- 30 plished only as a secondary action when the operator of the motor vehicle has 31 been detained for a suspected violation of another law. 32 (46) The department shall initiate and conduct an educational program, to 33 the extent sufficient private donations or federal funds for this specific 34 purpose are available to the department, to encourage compliance with the pro- 35 visions of this section and to publicize the effectiveness of use of safety 36beltsrestraints and other restraint devices in reducing risk of harm to occu- 37 pants of motor vehicles. 38 (57) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the provisions of 39 this section and shall include a report of its findings in its annual evalua- 40 tion report on the IdahoHhighwaySsafetyPplan which it submits to the 41NnationalHhighwayTtrafficSsafetyAadministration andFfederalHhighway 42Aadministration pursuant to 23 U.S.C. section 402. 43 (68) The failure to use a safetybeltrestraint shall not be considered 44 under any circumstances as evidence of contributory or comparative negligence, 45 nor shall such failure be admissible as evidence in any civil action with 46 regard to negligence.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 13034C1 This legislation amends Idaho's existing safety restraint statute in four ways. First, it provides that any occupant of a motor vehicle 18 years of age or older who fails to wear a safety restraint may be issued a citation. Second, it provides that the operator of a motor vehicle who is 18 years of age or older and has occupants in the motor vehicle who are under 18 years of age, may be issued a citation (however, only a single citation may be issued in this case, regardless of the number of occupants not wearing restraints). Third, it provides that a single citation may be issued to the operator of a motor vehicle if the operator is under 18 years of age and the operator or any other occupant who is also under 18 years of age is not wearing a safety restraint. Four, it increases Idaho's lowest-in- the-nation five dollar ($5.00) fine for violating the safety restraint law to ten dollars ($10.00). It further provides that the added five dollars ($5.00) is deposited in the state's catastrophic health care fund. The legislation also clarifies that the law applies to any approved safety restraint, not just seatbelts. As is now the case, an operator driver or vehicle occupant may only be cited for failure to wear a safety restraint if the operator has been stopped for another traffic violation. As is also now the case, violation of this section may not be deemed to be a moving violation for establishing motor vehicle insurance rates nor may it be used as evidence of contributory or comparative negligence in any civil action with regard to negligence. FISCAL IMPACT No direct fiscal impact to the General Account. This legislation, which is expected to substantially increase safety restraint usage, will reduce health care costs resulting from serious injuries and fatalities resulting from automobile accidents. To the extent that such costs are paid from the general account through a variety of state-subsidized health care programs, there will be a reduction in such general account costs. Data from Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, a Level 2 Trauma Center, shows that the average charges to Medicaid for seriously injured occupants not using safety restraints, were nearly twice the amount of those occupants who used safety restraints. Average charges for unrestrained occupants were $80,000 compared to $42,000 for those who were restrained. Contact: Name: Sen. Cecil Ingram Rep. Richard Wills Phone: (208) 332-1000 Roy Eiguren, St. Alphonsus RMS & I-BELT Coalition Phone: (208) 388-1313 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 30