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S1012........................................................by TRANSPORTATION
MOTOR VEHICLES - SAFETY RESTRAINTS - Amends existing law to provide that it is
an infraction offense punishable by a fine of five dollars for the operator of
a motor vehicle to fail to ensure safety restraint use by all occupants of the
vehicle; and to provide for imposition of an additional fine of five dollars
and fifty cents to be used by the county for the medically indigent residents
of that county.
01/17 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/20 Rpt prt - to Transp
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1012
BY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO USE OF MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY RESTRAINTS; AMENDING SECTION 49-673,
3 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS AN INFRACTION OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY A
4 FINE OF FIVE DOLLARS FOR THE OPERATOR OF A MOTOR VEHICLE TO FAIL TO ENSURE
5 SAFETY RESTRAINT USE BY ALL OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH
6 LAW, TO REQUIRE SAFETY RESTRAINT USE BY OCCUPANTS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES
7 EXCEPT WHILE OPERATING IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS A
8 SINGLE VIOLATION REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF OCCUPANTS NOT PROPERLY
9 RESTRAINED, TO PROVIDE FOR IMPOSITION OF AN ADDITIONAL FINE OF FIVE DOL-
10 LARS AND FIFTY CENTS TO BE USED BY THE COUNTY FOR THE MEDICALLY INDIGENT
11 RESIDENTS OF THAT COUNTY, TO DELETE REFERENCE TO WEIGHT OF THE VEHICLE AND
12 TO PROVIDE PROPER TERMINOLOGY.
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
14 SECTION 1. That Section 49-673, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
15 amended to read as follows:
16 49-673. SAFETY RESTRAINT USE. (1) Except as provided in section 49-672,
17 Idaho Code, and subsection (2)(b) of this section, each occupant of the front
18 seat of a motor vehicle which has a gross vehicle weight of not more than
19 eight thousand (8,000) pounds, and which was manufactured with safety belts
20 restraints in compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208,
21 shall have a safety belt restraint properly fastened about his body at all
22 times when the vehicle is in motion.
23 (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
24 (a) An occupant of a motor vehicle who possesses a written statement from
25 a licensed physician that he is unable for medical reasons to wear a
26 safety belt restraint;
27 (b) Occupants of motorcycles, implements of husbandry, and emergency
28 vehicles in emergency situations;
29 (c) Occupants of the front seat of a motor vehicle in which all safety
30 belts restraints are then properly in use by other occupants of that vehi-
31 cle; or
32 (d) Mail carriers.
33 (3) If a person is convicted of a violation of any traffic law, other
34 than a violation of the provisions of sections 49-1229 or 49-1230, Idaho Code,
35 relating to proof of liability insurance, it shall be It is an additional
36 infraction punishable by a fine of five dollars ($5.00) for any person to
37 violate the provisions operate a vehicle in which an occupant is in violation
38 of subsection (1) of this section, for which a fine of five dollars ($5.00)
39 shall be imposed. It shall be deemed a single violation regardless of the num-
40 ber of occupants not properly restrained as required by subsection (1) of this
41 section. A conviction under this section shall not result in violation point
42 counts as prescribed in section 49-326, Idaho Code. In addition, a A convic-
43 tion under this section shall not be deemed to be a moving traffic violation
2
1 for the purpose of establishing rates of motor vehicle insurance charged by a
2 casualty insurer.
3 (4) The department shall initiate and conduct an educational program, to
4 the extent sufficient private donations or federal funds for this specific
5 purpose are available to the department, to encourage compliance with the pro-
6 visions of this section and to publicize the effectiveness of use of safety
7 belts restraints and other restraint devices in reducing risk of harm to occu-
8 pants of motor vehicles.
9 (5) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the provisions of
10 this section and shall include a report of its findings in its annual evalua-
11 tion report on the Idaho Highway Safety Plan which it submits to National
12 Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration pur-
13 suant to 23 U.S.C. section 402.
14 (6) The failure to use a safety belt restraint shall not be considered
15 under any circumstances as evidence of contributory or comparative negligence,
16 nor shall such failure be admissible as evidence in any civil action with
17 regard to negligence.
18 (7) Every person who is convicted, found guilty, pleads guilty or
19 receives a withheld judgment for violating the provisions of this section
20 shall also be required to pay five dollars and fifty cents ($5.50) in addition
21 to any other fine, penalty or cost the court may assess. Moneys received pur-
22 suant to this subsection shall be remitted to the county treasurer in the
23 county where the person was adjudicated for use by the county in meeting its
24 obligations to pay for necessary medical services for resident medically indi-
25 gent persons under chapter 35, title 31, Idaho Code.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 12446C1
The legislation addresses the enforcement deficiencies in Idaho's seat
belt law that result in a safety restraint use rate well below the
national average. This low compliance results in higher death and
injury rates, and huge financial costs ultimately paid by all
Idahoans. In 2001, the economic cost of all Idaho motor vehicle
crashes was $1.5 billion, the equivalent of $1,150 for every Idahoan.
About 75 cents of every dollar spent to cover the costs of these
crashes is passed on to the public in increased medical costs, higher
taxes and insurance premiums, and larger direct, out-of-pocket
payments for goods and services. Nearly 70 percent of the state's
1,146 traffic fatalities during the past five years involved unbelted
drivers or occupants. This legislation requires all occupants,
including children not now covered, to be properly restrained, amends
the current statute to require than an additional $5.50 from each
citation be paid to county indigent funds to defray tax costs for
collision victims, and applies a standard enforcement mechanism to
allow officers to enforce the safety restraint law as any other non-
moving violation. Breaking Idaho's current law results in just a $5
fine, and only when the vehicle has been stopped and the driver has
been cited for some other violation. As is now the case, a violation
under this amended section does not result in violation point counts,
and a conviction is not deemed a moving violation for establishing
motor vehicle insurance rates.
FISCAL IMPACT
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates safety
restraint use increases 11 percent on average for states that upgrade
laws to include standard enforcement. In addition, NHTSA estimates
that safety restraints are 50 percent effective in preventing
fatalities and serious injuries. Based on these estimates, here are
the benefits had a standard enforcement law been in effect in 2001:
12 lives saved and 63 serious injuries prevented
The State of Idaho, which pays 2.7 percent of the total costs of
collisions, would have saved $1.2 million
The Federal government, which pays 6.4 percent of the costs,
would have saved more than $2.9 million
Cost savings to insurance companies: $22.8 million
Cost savings of individuals involved in crashes: nearly $11.9
million
Cost savings to other sources: $6.6 million
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 use safety restraints. Average charges
for unrestrained occupants were $80,000, compared to $42,000 for those
that were restrained. Based on this data, here are the benefits of a
standard enforcement law:
Medicaid could realize a savings of $38,000 on average for every
additional person that wears a seat belt
In 2001, this would have resulted in $152,000 savings in charges
to Medicaid from this Medical Care center alone
The Catastrophic Health Care Cost Program, which is a combination of
county and state funds, paid out $1.76 million for health care for the
medically indigent motor vehicle crash occupants in 2001. Similar
savings per person as noted from the previous data could be reasonably
assumed. In addition, a portion of the fixed penalty included in this
legislation ($5.50 for each citation) would be allocated to county
medically indigent fund of the county in which the citation is
written.
Contact:
Senators Cecil Ingram 332-1315, Bert Marley 332-1407
Rep. Mike Mitchell 332-1192
AAA Idaho Dave Carlson 342-9391
IBELT Chris Marselle 367-3079; Phyllis Smith 455-8302
S1012