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2001
SEAT
BELT SAFETY
Safety Belt Use And Car
Crashes
In 1995, the overall safety belt use was 68 percent.
Among front seat passenger
vehicle occupants over four years old, safety belts
saved an estimated 9,797 lives in 1995.
In 1995, if every passenger
vehicle front seat occupant had buckled up, an
additional 9,835 deaths could have been prevented.
88% of people poled
believed safety belts save lives and reduce
injuries; 75% favor seat belt use laws; 70% say the
risk of receiving a citation would make them buckle
up; 65% say police should issue more citations.
In 1995, 6.5 million motor
vehicle crashes were reported by the police; 3.4
million people were injured or killed in these
crashes.
In 1995, 41,798 deaths
resulted from crashes; that is an average of 115
deaths a day or one every 13 minutes.
75% of all crashes occur
within 25 miles of home.
60% of fatal or injury
crashes occur on roads with posted speed limits of
40 miles per hour or less.
Motor vehicle crashes are a
leading cause of death for Americans.
Motor vehicle crashes cost society more than $150.5
billion each year. Personal and other household
crimes cost their victims $19 billion.
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Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 90 §
7AA
Children as
passengers in motor vehicles.
No child
under the age of five and no child weighing forty
pounds or less shall ride as a passenger in a motor
vehicle on any way unless such child is properly
fastened and secured, according to the manufacturer’s
instructions, by a child passenger restraint as
defined in section one.
No child who is
five years of age or older, but not older that twelve
years of age, shall ride as a passenger in a motor
vehicle on any way unless such child is wearing a
safety belt which is properly adjusted and fastened
according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
The provisions
shall not apply to any such child who is: (1) riding
as a passenger on a school bus; (2) riding as a
passenger in a motor vehicle made before July first,
nineteen hundred and sixty-six, that is not equipped
with safety belts; (3) physically unable to use either
a conventional child passenger restraint or a child
restraint specifically designed for children with
special needs; provided, however, that such condition
is duly certified in writing by a physician who shall
state the nature of the disability as well as the
reason such restraints are inappropriate; provided,
further, that no such certifying physician shall be
subject to liability in a civil action for the
issuance of or for the failure to issue such
certificate. An operator of a motor vehicle who
violates the provisions of this section shall be
subject to a fine of not more than twenty-five
dollars; provided, however, that said twenty-five
dollar fine shall not apply to an operator of a motor
vehicle licensed as a taxi cab not equipped with a
passenger restraint device.
A violation of
this section shall not be used as evidence of
contributory negligence in any civil action.
A person who
receives a citation for a violation of any of the
provisions of this section may contest such citation
pursuant to section three of chapter ninety C. A
violation of this section shall not be deemed to be a
conviction of a moving violation of the motor vehicle
laws for the purpose of determining surcharges on
motor vehicle premiums pursuant to section one hundred
and thirteen B of chapter one hundred and
seventy-five.
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What does all
this mean?
1. If the child
is under 5 and weights less than 40 lbs. they must be
in a safety seat.
2. If the child is under 12, they must wear a seat
belt.
3. If the child is a passenger in a taxi cab, it is
the responsibility of the parent or
guardian to
provide a safety seat and to insure
the child is properly secured
in a seat
belt.
4. A police officer may stop a car if one or more
children are riding unrestrained.
No other
reason is needed.
5. You will receive a $25.00 fine for each child not
in a seat belt or safety seat.
Got an idea for the
Monthly Spotlight Page? Please email them to us
at: spotlight@broctkonpolice.com
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