Florida has a new seat belt law which went into effect June 30th, 2009 making not wearing a seat belt a primary offense. It is being referred to as the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law and requires drivers and passengers to fasten their safety belts. (Ch. 316.614, Florida Statutes) or they can be ticketed for this violations a primary offense.
Florida's previous safety belt law made not wearing a seat belt a non-moving violation. This type of law is considered a secondary seat belt law because officers may not stop a vehicle solely for a seat belt violation; rather, officers may only ticket those in violation of the law if the motor vehicle was stopped for a moving violation, such as speeding.
So the state of Florida now has a primary seat belt law. Florida's new safety belt law removes the requirement that failure to wear seat belts cannot be the basis for an officer to make a traffic stop. Florida will no longer have a secondary seat belt law; this means officers may stop motor vehicles for failing to wear a seat belt and not need to stop the driver for a separate offense.
We have read that under the new primary FL safety belt law, fines for violation will remain the same, a $30 fine for adults and a $60 fine for children.
The Florida legislature noted that this law is intended to reduce the number of injuries and deaths due to motor vehicle accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), over half the people killed in automobile accidents each year failed to wear their seat belts. By providing police officers with the power to pull over drivers who are not wearing seat belts, the law is expected to help decrease this number and encourage safety for drivers and their passengers.
As we mentioned this law provides penalties for a violation, including fines. There is a $30 fine for adults in violation of the seat belt law. For a minor (under 18 years of age), that amount doubles to $60 and the violation is issued to the responsible adult in the vehicle. So the base fine for a passenger seat belt ticket in FL should be $30 though on top of that there usually are administrative fees and court costs so that is what may be adding your fine amount up to $101, you would have to check with the court listed on the ticket to find out for sure.
The seat belt violation does go on your FL driving record but it does not appear that there are points for a driver or passenger who receives a seat belt violation but there is if you have a child restraint violation ticket however to find out more about the penalties and points associated with a Florida seat belt ticket check with the FL Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (HSMV).
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