§ 1259. Safety belts; persons 18 years of age or older
(a) The operator of a motor vehicle shall be guilty of a violation of this section if
any person 18 years of age or older is occupying a seating position that has been
manufactured with a federally approved safety belt system and is not restrained by
the safety belt system while the motor vehicle is in motion on a public highway.
(b) A person is required to be restrained in a safety belt system unless:
(1) the person is a rural mail carrier of the U.S. Postal Service operating a motor vehicle
in the performance of employment;
(2) the person is a driver or passenger frequently stopping and leaving the motor vehicle
or delivering property from the motor vehicle, if the speed of the motor vehicle between
stops does not exceed 15 miles per hour;
(3) the person is the operator of any farm tractor;
(4) the person is a member of the emergency personnel of an emergency motor vehicle and
finds it necessary to be unrestrained in order to perform his or her duties;
(5) the motor vehicle the person is occupying is a bus or taxi;
(6) the person is required to be restrained under section 1258 of this title; or
(7) the person has been ordered by an enforcement officer, a firefighter, or an authorized
civil authority to evacuate persons from a stricken area.
(c) Noncompliance with the provisions of this section shall not be admissible as evidence
in any civil proceeding.
(d) Failure to wear a safety belt in violation of this section shall not constitute negligence
or contributory negligence in any civil proceeding or criminal action, nor be entered
as evidence to bar prosecution of a criminal offense.
(e) This section may be enforced only if a law enforcement officer has detained the operator
of a motor vehicle for another suspected traffic violation. An operator shall not
be subject to the penalty established in this section unless the operator is required
to pay a penalty for the primary violation.
(f) The penalty for violation of this section shall be as follows:
(1) $25.00 for a first violation;
(2) $50.00 for a second violation; and
(3) $100.00 for third and subsequent violations. (Added 1993, No. 18, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; amended 2001, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 2003, No. 28, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; 2005, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 62; 2009, No. 150 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. June 1, 2010; 2015, No. 47, § 42; 2021, No. 20, § 243; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 419, eff. July 1, 2022.)