View Daily Data Tracking History
View Bill Text
View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
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 - 2003
IN 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 occupant of the front
22 seat of a motor vehicle which has a gross vehicle weight of not more than
23 eight thousand (8,000) pounds, and which was manufactured with safety belts
24 restraints in compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208,
25 shall have a safety belt restraint 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 safety belt restraint;
31 (b) Occupants of motorcycles, implements of husbandry and emergency vehi-
32 cles;
33 (c) Occupants of the front seats of a motor vehicle in which all safety
34 belts restraints 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, other
38 than a violation of the provisions of sections 49-1229 or 49-1230, Idaho Code,
39 relating to proof of liability insurance, it shall be an additional infraction
40 for any person to violate the provisions of this section, for which a fine of
41 five (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 imposed with 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
36 belts restraints 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 Idaho Hhighway Ssafety Pplan which it submits to the
41 Nnational Hhighway Ttraffic Ssafety Aadministration and Ffederal Hhighway
42 Aadministration pursuant to 23 U.S.C. section 402.
43 (68) The failure to use a safety belt restraint 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