By: Moncrief, Duncan S.B. No. 113
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to vehicle passenger safety systems; providing criminal
1-3 penalties.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subsections (a) and (f), Section 545.412,
1-6 Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) A person commits an offense if the person operates a
1-8 passenger vehicle [car or light truck] and:
1-9 (1) transports a child younger than two years of age
1-10 and does not keep the child secured during the operation of the
1-11 vehicle in a child passenger safety seat system according to the
1-12 instructions of the manufacturer of the safety seat system; or
1-13 (2) transports a child who is at least two years of
1-14 age but younger than four years of age and does not keep the child
1-15 secured during the operation of the vehicle:
1-16 (A) in a child passenger safety seat system
1-17 according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety
1-18 seat system; or
1-19 (B) by a safety belt.
1-20 (f) In this section:
1-21 (1) "Child[, "child] passenger safety seat system"
1-22 means an infant or child passenger restraint system that meets the
1-23 federal standards for crash-tested restraint systems as set by the
1-24 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
1-25 (2) "Passenger vehicle" means a passenger car, light
2-1 truck, sport utility vehicle, truck, or truck tractor.
2-2 (3) "Safety belt" means a lap belt and any shoulder
2-3 straps included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle.
2-4 (4) "Secured," in connection with use of a safety
2-5 belt, means using the lap belt and any shoulder straps according to
2-6 the instructions of:
2-7 (A) the manufacturer of the vehicle, if the
2-8 safety belt is original equipment; or
2-9 (B) the manufacturer of the safety belt, if the
2-10 safety belt has been added to the vehicle.
2-11 SECTION 2. Subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), and (h), Section
2-12 545.413, Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
2-13 (a) A person commits an offense if the person:
2-14 (1) is at least 15 years of age;
2-15 (2) is riding in the front seat of a passenger vehicle
2-16 [car] while the vehicle is being operated;
2-17 (3) is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety
2-18 belt; and
2-19 (4) is not secured by a safety belt.
2-20 (b) A person commits an offense if the person:
2-21 (1) operates a passenger vehicle [car or light truck]
2-22 that is equipped with safety belts; and
2-23 (2) allows a child who is at least four years of age
2-24 but younger than 17 [15] years of age to ride in the vehicle
2-25 without requiring the child to be secured by a safety belt,
2-26 provided the child is occupying a seat that is equipped with a
3-1 safety belt.
3-2 (c) A passenger vehicle [car] or a seat in a passenger
3-3 vehicle [car] is considered to be equipped with a safety belt if
3-4 the vehicle is required under Section 547.601 to be equipped with
3-5 safety belts.
3-6 (e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
3-7 (1) the person possesses a written statement from a
3-8 licensed physician stating that for a medical reason the person
3-9 should not wear a safety belt;
3-10 (2) the person presents to the court, not later than
3-11 the 10th day after the date of the offense, a statement from a
3-12 licensed physician stating that for a medical reason the person
3-13 should not wear a safety belt;
3-14 (3) the person is employed by the United States Postal
3-15 Service and performing a duty for that agency that requires the
3-16 operator to service postal boxes from a vehicle or that requires
3-17 frequent entry into and exit from a vehicle;
3-18 (4) the person is engaged in the actual delivery of
3-19 newspapers from a vehicle or is performing newspaper delivery
3-20 duties that require frequent entry into and exit from a vehicle;
3-21 [or]
3-22 (5) the person is employed by a public or private
3-23 utility company and is engaged in the reading of meters or
3-24 performing a similar duty for that company requiring the operator
3-25 to frequently enter into and exit from a vehicle; or
3-26 (6) The person is operating a commercial vehicle
4-1 registered as a farm vehicle under the provisions of Section
4-2 502.163 that does not have a gross weight, registered weight, or
4-3 gross weight rating of 48,000 pounds or more.
4-4 (h) In this section, "passenger vehicle," "safety belt," and
4-5 "secured" have the meanings assigned by Section 545.412[:]
4-6 [(1) "Passenger car" includes a truck with a
4-7 manufacturer's rated carrying capacity of not more than 1,500
4-8 pounds.]
4-9 [(2) "Safety belt" means a lap belt and any shoulder
4-10 straps included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle].
4-11 SECTION 3. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
4-12 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
4-13 Act. For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed
4-14 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
4-15 occurs before that date.
4-16 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
4-17 Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was
4-18 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
4-19 purpose.
4-20 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.