In California this type of citation, for being a passenger ticketed for not wearing their safety belt, is listed on your driving record but not assigned points unless it was a child that was not wearing their seat belt. California courts and DMV are very serious when children under 16 are not properly secured in a vehicle. If cited for a child passenger seat restraint not being used, drivers may receive one “point count” on their driving record in CA.

It is against the law not to have every driver and passenger of a vehicle protected by a seat belt in CA. The California Driver's Handbook, which you can read online through the CA DMV website, states that seat belts, both the lap belt and shoulder harness, must be in good working order.

CA law says that you may not operate your vehicle unless you and all your passengers 16 years of age or over, or who weigh 60 lbs. or more, are wearing seat belts. If seat belts are not worn, you may be given a traffic ticket. Also, the driver will be given the ticket if a passenger, younger than 16, is not wearing his/her seat belt.

As your son is aware of now, passengers in cars can be ticketed for not having a seat belt buckled while the driver can be ticketed if he or she does not wear their safety belt and also if they have passengers under the age of 16 that are not wearing a seat belt.

Section 27315(d)(e) of the California Vehicle Code mandates the use of safety belts. Subsection h of this part of the California Vehicle Code states:

(h) Any violation of subdivision (d), (e), or (f) is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than twenty dollars ($20) for a first offense, and a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50) for each subsequent offense. In lieu of the fine and any penalty assessment or court costs, the court may order that a person convicted of a first offense attend a school for traffic violators or any other court-approved program in which the proper use of safety belts is demonstrated.

The fine listed for a ticket for the 27315 offense on the CA Uniform bail schedule is $76.00. This is for a first offense so as you can tell the $20 penalty grows a bit when you add on court costs, county fees, etc. If you get a second ticket for not wearing your seat belt the fine goes up. That is one reason they place this offense on your driving record once you are convicted of it, to track and see if you get more tickets for the same violation so they can fine you more for each subsequent conviction.

So this seat belt ticket will be placed on your son's California driving record. Typically minor offenses remain on a CA MVR for 3 years. If your son does not want this on his record he can try to fight it in court. A lawyer that deals with these types of cases may be able to tell him if he can win in court or not with his description of how he got this ticket though he was wearing a seat belt.

Your son could also contact the court listed on his ticket to see if traffic school is an option. Normally you can only use this option once every 18 months so your son may not want to use it for such a minor offense that does not come with points.

Your son can ask his agent about his auto insurer's rating system and how this passenger no seat belt ticket may affect his premiums. If he finds out that his rates will rise due to this being placed on his driving record he may want to comparison shop for auto insurance to look for better rates.