New York State Seat Belt Law For Backseat Passengers

New York State Seat Belt Law for Backseat Passengers

By Feifer & Greenberg LLP
6:11 pm

On Sunday, November 1, the Empire State’s new seatbelt law went into effect. The law requires backseat adult passengers to wear seatbelts.

Previously, the law required that the driver, front seat passengers, and children wear a seat belt, or otherwise be properly restrained as per age requirements. The only passenger exempt from seat belts was the adult in the back seat.

The reasoning behind the change to this law is the knowledge that state and federal researchers have gained in the last few decades concerning the fact that seat belts save lives. The data is conclusive enough that to exclude adult back seat passengers seems like a dangerous oversight.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that just 68% of rear-seat passengers wear their belt when they aren’t required to by law. The number goes up to 81% once it’s made a legal requirement. In 2018 (the most recent available data set), there were 1,033 motor vehicle fatalities in NY. About 30% of highway deaths in NY involve occupants not wearing a seat belt.

In 1984, New York became the first state with a mandatory seat belt law, but it was one of 20 states that did not require all passengers to wear restraints. As of Nov. 1, 2020, that is no longer the case.

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Your office is in NYC. How do you handle cases statewide?

We have organized a statewide network of attorneys. In our network are both attorneys who work for Feifer & Greenberg and attorneys who work for other firms that regularly provide of-counsel representation to our clients. This statewide network allows us to match clients in a particular county or court with local attorneys who regularly appear on similar matters in the same county or court. It enables us to help clients anywhere in New York State and in our opinion provide particularly effective and affordable representation for our clients. Local attorneys can draw on their particular local experiences and, with travel time and expense removed from the equation, help us keep our legal fees low.

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Should I just pay my ticket or should I fight?

We recommend fighting almost all tickets. Even if the current NY traffic tickets aren’t particularly harmful, you have an incentive to keep your record clean for the future. Convictions quickly lead to surcharges, insurance increases and other complications. You should strongly consider any decision to pay a ticket without fighting.

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Our lawyers are experienced, prepared attorneys who understand the nuances of fighting traffic tickets. Experience, preparation and good decision making help us to help our clients avoid points, surcharges, insurance increases and the other negatives that can easily result from a traffic ticket.

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At Feifer & Greenberg, our New York traffic ticket attorneys are dedicated to helping clients with their speeding tickets. We have worked on thousands of traffic matters, successfully dismissing tickets that would have cost our clients hundreds or even thousands in fines, surcharges and insurance increases.

If you want to fight your speeding ticket, make sure you know what is at stake . Speak with our experienced New York traffic lawyers to ensure that you are taking the proper steps to keep your record clean.

New York State Seat Belt Law For Backseat Passengers