House Bill hb0067c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 67
By the Committee on Crime Prevention, Corrections & Safety
and Representatives Slosberg, Prieguez, Cantens, Gottlieb,
Gannon, Romeo, Weissman, Garcia, Meadows, Greenstein and Rich
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Safety Belt Law;
3 creating the "Dori Slosberg Act of 2001";
4 amending s. 316.614, F.S.; deleting obsolete
5 language; providing for all persons in a motor
6 vehicle to wear a safety belt; revising the
7 Florida Safety Belt Law to eliminate the
8 requirement that the law be enforced as a
9 secondary action when a driver of a motor
10 vehicle has been detained for another
11 violation; providing restrictions on authority
12 to search based on a safety belt violation;
13 providing an effective date.
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15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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17 Section 1. Short title.--This act may be cited as the
18 "Dori Slosberg Act of 2001."
19 Section 2. Section 316.614, Florida Statutes, is
20 amended to read:
21 316.614 Safety belt usage.--
22 (1) This section may be cited as the "Florida Safety
23 Belt Law."
24 (2) It is the policy of this state that enactment of
25 this section is intended to be compatible with the continued
26 support by the state for federal safety standards requiring
27 automatic crash protection, and the enactment of this section
28 should not be used in any manner to rescind or delay the
29 implementation of the federal automatic crash protection
30 system requirements of Federal Motor Safety Standard 208 as
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 67
189-905-01
1 set forth in S4.1.2.1 thereof, as entered on July 17, 1984,
2 for new cars.
3 (2)(3) As used in this section:
4 (a) "Motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle as defined
5 in s. 316.003 that is operated on the roadways, streets, and
6 highways of this state. The term does not include:
7 1. A school bus.
8 2. A bus used for the transportation of persons for
9 compensation.
10 3. A farm tractor or implement of husbandry.
11 4. A truck of a net weight of more than 5,000 pounds.
12 5. A motorcycle, moped, or bicycle.
13 (b) "Safety belt" means a seat belt assembly that
14 meets the requirements established under Federal Motor Vehicle
15 Safety Standard No. 208, 49 C.F.R. s. 571.208.
16 (c) "Restrained by a safety belt" means being
17 restricted by an appropriately adjusted safety belt which is
18 properly fastened at all times when a motor vehicle is in
19 motion.
20 (3)(4) It is unlawful for any person:
21 (a) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless
22 each passenger of the vehicle under the age of 18 years is
23 restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device
24 pursuant to s. 316.613, if applicable; or
25 (b) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless
26 the person is restrained by a safety belt.
27 (4)(5) It is unlawful for any person 18 years of age
28 or older to be a passenger in the front seat of a motor
29 vehicle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt when
30 the vehicle is in motion.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 67
189-905-01
1 (5) The following are not required to be restrained by
2 a safety belt:
3 (6)(a) Neither A person who is certified by a
4 physician as having a medical condition that causes the use of
5 a safety belt to be inappropriate or dangerous.
6 (b) nor An employee of a newspaper home delivery
7 service while in the course of his or her employment
8 delivering newspapers on home delivery routes is required to
9 be restrained by a safety belt.
10 (b) The number of front seat passengers of a pickup
11 truck required to wear a safety belt pursuant to this section
12 shall not exceed the number of safety belts which were
13 installed in the front seat of such pickup truck by the
14 manufacturer.
15 (c) An employee of a solid waste or recyclable
16 collection service is not required to be restrained by a
17 safety belt while in the course of employment collecting solid
18 waste or recyclables on designated routes.
19 (d) The passengers of a motor vehicle in excess of the
20 number of safety belts installed by the manufacturer.
21 (e)(d) The requirements of this section shall not
22 apply to the living quarters of a recreational vehicle or a
23 space within a truck body primarily intended for merchandise
24 or property.
25 (6)(7) It is the intent of the Legislature that all
26 state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, safety
27 councils, and public school systems, in recognition of the
28 fatalities and injuries attributed to unrestrained occupancy
29 of motor vehicles, shall conduct a continuing safety and
30 public awareness campaign as to the magnitude of the problem
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 67
189-905-01
1 and adopt programs designed to encourage compliance with the
2 safety belt usage requirements of this section.
3 (7)(8) Any person who violates the provisions of this
4 section commits a nonmoving violation, punishable as provided
5 in chapter 318. A law enforcement officer may not search or
6 inspect a motor vehicle, its contents, the driver, or a
7 passenger solely because of a violation of this section
8 However, except for violations of s. 316.613, enforcement of
9 this section by state or local law enforcement agencies must
10 be accomplished only as a secondary action when a driver of a
11 motor vehicle has been detained for a suspected violation of
12 another section of this chapter, chapter 320, or chapter 322.
13 (8)(9) A violation of the provisions of this section
14 shall not constitute negligence per se, nor shall such
15 violation be used as prima facie evidence of negligence or be
16 considered in mitigation of damages, but such violation may be
17 considered as evidence of comparative negligence, in any civil
18 action.
19 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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