27302. No person shall sell or offer for sale any seatbelt or
attachments thereto for use in a vehicle unless it complies with
requirements established by the department.
27304. All vehicles owned and utilized in driver training by a
driver training school licensed under the provisions of Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 11100) of Division 5 or in a course in
automobile driver training in any secondary school maintained under
the Education Code shall be equipped with a seatbelt for the driver
and each passenger. Such seatbelt shall comply with requirements
established by the department.
It shall be unlawful for any driver or passenger to operate or
ride in such a vehicle while it is being operated for the purposes of
driver training, unless such person is utilizing an installed
seatbelt in the proper manner.
27305. All publicly owned firefighting vehicles designed for and
used in responding to emergency fire calls and in combating fires
shall be equipped with seatbelts for each seat utilized by personnel
when such vehicles are being operated. Such seatbelts shall comply
with requirements established by the department.
27314. (a) No dealer shall sell or offer for sale any used
passenger vehicle that was manufactured on or after January 1, 1962,
other than a motorcycle, unless it is equipped with at least two
seatbelts which are installed for the use of persons in the front
seat of the vehicle.
(b) No dealer shall sell or offer for sale any used passenger
vehicle manufactured on or after January 1, 1968, other than a
motorcycle, unless it is equipped with seatbelts for each seating
position.
(c) Seatbelts required in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall comply
with regulations established by the department.
(d) The requirements of this section shall not apply to sales to
dealers, automobile dismantlers, or junk dealers.
27314.5. (a) (1) Subject to paragraph (3), no dealer shall sell or
offer for sale any used passenger vehicle of a model year of 1972 to
1990, inclusive, unless there is affixed to the window of the left
front door or, if there is no window, to another suitable location so
that it may be seen and read by a person standing outside the
vehicle at that location, a notice, printed in 14-point type, which
reads as follows:
"WARNING: While use of all seat belts reduces the chance of
ejection, failure to install and use shoulder harnesses with lap
belts can result in serious or fatal injuries in some crashes.
Lap-only belts increase the chance of head and neck injury by
allowing the upper torso to move unrestrained in a crash and increase
the chance of spinal column and abdominal injuries by concentrating
excessive force on the lower torso. Because children carry a
disproportionate amount of body weight above the waist, they are more
likely to sustain those injuries. Shoulder harnesses may be
available that can be retrofitted in this vehicle. For more
information call the Auto Safety Hotline at 1-800-424-9393."
(2) The notice shall remain affixed to the vehicle pursuant to
paragraph (1) at all times that the vehicle is for sale.
(3) The notice is not required to be affixed to any vehicle
equipped with both a lap belt and a shoulder harness for the driver
and one passenger in the front seat of the vehicle and for at least
two passengers in the rear seat of the vehicle.
(b) (1) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), and
subject to paragraph (3) and subdivision (c), the dealer shall affix,
to one rear seat lap belt buckle of every used passenger vehicle of
a model year of 1972 to 1990, inclusive, that has a rear seat, a
notice, printed in 10-point type, that reads as follows:
"WARNING: While use of all seat belts reduces the chance of
ejection, failure to install and use shoulder harnesses with lap
belts can result in serious or fatal injuries in some crashes.
Shoulder harnesses may be available that can be retrofitted in this
vehicle. For more information, call the Auto Safety Hotline at
1-800-424-9393."
(2) The notice shall remain affixed to the vehicle pursuant to
paragraph (1) at all times that the vehicle is for sale.
(3) The message is not required to be affixed to any vehicle
either equipped with both a lap belt and a shoulder harness for at
least two passengers in the rear seat or having no rear seat lap
belts.
(c) A dealer is not in violation of subdivision (b) unless a
private nonprofit entity has furnished a supply of the appropriate
notices suitable for affixing as required free of charge or, having
requested a resupply of notices, has not received the resupply.
(d) The department shall furnish, to a nonprofit private entity
for purposes of this section, for a fee not to exceed its costs in so
furnishing, at least once every six months, a list of all licensed
dealers who sell used passenger vehicles.
27315. (a) The Legislature finds that a mandatory seatbelt law will
contribute to reducing highway deaths and injuries by encouraging
greater usage of existing manual seatbelts, that automatic crash
protection systems which require no action by vehicle occupants offer
the best hope of reducing deaths and injuries, and that encouraging
the use of manual safety belts is only a partial remedy for
addressing this major cause of death and injury. The Legislature
declares that the enactment of this section is intended to be
compatible with support for federal safety standards requiring
automatic crash protection systems and should not be used in any
manner to rescind federal requirements for installation of automatic
restraints in new cars.
(b) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Motor
Vehicle Safety Act.
(c) (1) As used in this section, "motor vehicle" means any
passenger vehicle or any motortruck or truck tractor, but does not
include a motorcycle.
(2) Until May 1, 2000, for purposes of this section, a "motor
vehicle" also means any farm labor vehicle that was first issued an
inspection certificate under Section 31401 on or after October 1,
1999.
(3) On and after May 1, 2000, for purposes of this section, a
"motor vehicle" also means any farm labor vehicle, regardless of date
of certification under Section 31401.
(d) (1) No person shall operate a motor vehicle on a highway
unless that person and all passengers 16 years of age or over are
properly restrained by a safety belt. This paragraph does not apply
to the operator of a taxicab, as defined in Section 27908, when the
taxicab is driven on a city street and is engaged in the
transportation of a fare-paying passenger. The safety belt
requirement established by this paragraph is the minimum safety
standard applicable to employees being transported in a motor
vehicle. This paragraph does not preempt any more stringent or
restrictive standards imposed by the Labor Code or any other state or
federal regulation regarding the transportation of employees in a
motor vehicle.
(2) The operator of a limousine for hire or the operator of an
authorized emergency vehicle, as defined in subdivision (a) of
Section 165, shall not operate the limousine for hire or authorized
emergency vehicle unless the operator and any passengers four years
of age or over and weighing 40 pounds or more, in the front seat are
properly restrained by a safety belt.
(3) The operator of a taxicab shall not operate the taxicab unless
any passengers four years of age or over and weighing 40 pounds or
more, in the front seat are properly restrained by a safety belt.
(e) No person 16 years of age or over shall be a passenger in a
motor vehicle on a highway unless that person is properly restrained
by a safety belt. This subdivision does not apply to a passenger in
a sleeper berth, as defined in subdivision (v) of Section 1201 of
Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations.
(f) Every owner of a motor vehicle, including every owner or
operator of a taxicab, as defined in Section 27908, or a limousine
for hire, operated on a highway shall maintain safety belts in good
working order for the use of occupants of the vehicle. The safety
belts shall conform to motor vehicle safety standards established by
the United States Department of Transportation. This subdivision
does not, however, require installation or maintenance of safety
belts where not required by the laws of the United States applicable
to the vehicle at the time of its initial sale.
(g) This section does not apply to a passenger or operator with a
physically disabling condition or medical condition which would
prevent appropriate restraint in a safety belt, if the condition is
duly certified by a licensed physician and surgeon or by a licensed
chiropractor who shall state the nature of the condition, as well as
the reason the restraint is inappropriate. This section also does
not apply to a public employee, when in an authorized emergency
vehicle as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
165, or to any passenger in any seat behind the front seat of an
authorized emergency vehicle as defined in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 165 operated by the public employee,
unless required by the agency employing the public employee.
(h) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 42001, any
violation of subdivision (d), (e), or (f) is an infraction punishable
by a fine, including all penalty assessments and court costs imposed
on the convicted person, of not more than twenty dollars ($20) for a
first offense, and a fine, including all penalty assessments and
court costs imposed on the convicted person, 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, pursuant to Section
42005, may order that a person convicted of a first offense attend a
school for traffic violators or a driving school in which the proper
use of safety belts is demonstrated.
(i) For any violation of subdivision (d), (e), or (f), in addition
to the fines provided for pursuant to subdivision (h) and the
penalty assessments provided for pursuant to Section 1464 of the
Penal Code, an additional penalty assessment of two dollars ($2)
shall be levied for any first offense, and an additional penalty
assessment of five dollars ($5) shall be levied for any subsequent
offense.
All moneys collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be
utilized in accordance with Section 1464 of the Penal Code.
(j) In any civil action, a violation of subdivision (d), (e), or
(f) or information of a violation of subdivision (h) shall not
establish negligence as a matter of law or negligence per se for
comparative fault purposes, but negligence may be proven as a fact
without regard to the violation.
(k) If the United States Secretary of Transportation fails to
adopt safety standards for manual safety belt systems by September 1,
1989, no motor vehicle manufactured after that date for sale or sold
in this state shall be registered unless it contains a manual safety
belt system which meets the performance standards applicable to
automatic crash protection devices adopted by the Secretary of
Transportation pursuant to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No.
208 (49 C.F.R. 571.208) as in effect on January 1, 1985.
(l) Each motor vehicle offered for original sale in this state
which has been manufactured on or after September 1, 1989, shall
comply with the automatic restraint requirements of Section S4.1.2.1
of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208 (49 C.F.R. 571.208),
as published in Volume 49 of the Federal Register, No. 138, page
29009. Any automobile manufacturer who sells or delivers a motor
vehicle subject to the requirements of this subdivision, and fails to
comply with this subdivision, shall be punished by a fine of not
more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each sale or delivery of a
noncomplying motor vehicle.
(m) Compliance with subdivision (k) or (l) by a manufacturer shall
be made by self-certification in the same manner as
self-certification is accomplished under federal law.
(n) This section does not apply to a person actually engaged in
delivery of newspapers to customers along the person's route if the
person is properly restrained by a safety belt prior to commencing
and subsequent to completing delivery on the route.
(o) This section does not apply to a person actually engaged in
collection and delivery activities as a rural delivery carrier for
the United States Postal Service if the person is properly restrained
by a safety belt prior to stopping at the first box and subsequent
to stopping at the last box on the route.
(p) This section does not apply to a driver actually engaged in
the collection of solid waste or recyclable materials along that
driver's collection route if the driver is properly restrained by a
safety belt prior to commencing and subsequent to completing the
collection route.
(q) Subdivisions (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h) shall become
inoperative immediately upon the date that the United States
Secretary of Transportation, or his or her delegate, determines to
rescind the portion of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No.
208 (49 C.F.R. 571.208) which requires the installation of automatic
restraints in new motor vehicles, except that those subdivisions
shall not become inoperative if the secretary's decision to rescind
that Standard No. 208 is not based, in any respect, on the enactment
or continued operation of those subdivisions.
27315.1. Section 27315 applies to any person in a fully enclosed
three-wheeled motor vehicle that is not less than seven feet in
length and not less than four feet in width, and has an unladen
weight of 900 pounds or more.
27315.3. (a) As used in this section, "passenger motor vehicle"
means any passenger vehicle as defined in Section 465 and any
motortruck as defined in Section 410 of less than 6,001 pounds
unladen weight, but does not include a motorcycle as defined in
Section 400.
(b) Every sheriff's department and city police department and the
Department of the California Highway Patrol shall maintain safety
belts in good working order for the use of occupants of any vehicle
which it operates on a highway for the purpose of patrol. The safety
belts shall conform to motor vehicle safety standards established by
the United States Department of Transportation. This subdivision
does not, however, require installation or maintenance of safety
belts where not required by the laws of the United States applicable
to the vehicle at the time of its initial sale.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 42001, any
violation of subdivision (b) is an infraction punishable by a fine,
including all penalty assessments and court costs imposed on the
convicted department, of not more than twenty dollars ($20) for a
first offense, and a fine, including all penalty assessments and
court costs imposed on the convicted department, of not more than
fifty dollars ($50) for each subsequent offense.
(d) (1) For any violation of subdivision (b), in addition to the
fines provided for pursuant to subdivision (c) and the penalty
assessments provided for pursuant to Section 1464 of the Penal Code,
an additional penalty assessment of two dollars ($2) shall be levied
for any first offense, and an additional penalty assessment of five
dollars ($5) shall be levied for any subsequent offense.
(2) All money collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be
utilized in accordance with Section 1464 of the Penal Code.
(e) In any civil action, a violation of subdivision (b) or
information of a violation of subdivision (c) shall not establish
negligence as a matter of law or negligence per se for comparative
fault purposes, but negligence may be proven as a fact without regard
to the violation.
(f) Subdivisions (b) and (c) shall become inoperative immediately
upon the date that the Secretary of the United States Department of
Transportation, or his or her delegate, determines to rescind the
portion of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208 (49
C.F.R. 571.208) which requires the installation of automatic
restraints in new passenger motor vehicles, except that those
subdivisions shall not become inoperative if the secretary's decision
to rescind Standard No. 208 is not based, in any respect, on the
enactment or continued operation of those subdivisions or
subdivisions (d) to (h), inclusive, of Section 27315.
27315.5. All law enforcement agencies shall, not later than January
1, 1991, establish a policy and issue an order, in writing, which
states whether or not their officers are required to wear seat belts.
When a law enforcement agency is developing a safety belt policy,
the agency shall consider the officer's safety, comfort, and
convenience.
27316. (a) Unless specifically prohibited by the National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration, all schoolbuses purchased or
leased for use in California shall be equipped at all designated
seating positions with a combination pelvic and upper torso passenger
restraint system, if the schoolbus is either of the following:
(1) Type 1, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of
Section 1201 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, and
is manufactured on or after July 1, 2005.
(2) Type 2, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of
Section 1201 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, and
is manufactured on or after July 1, 2004.
(b) For purposes of this section, a "passenger restraint system"
means any of the following:
(1) A restraint system that is in compliance with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 209, for a type 2 seatbelt assembly, and with
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210, as those standards were
in effect on the date the schoolbus was manufactured.
(2) A restraint system certified by the schoolbus manufacturer
that is in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 222
and incorporates a type 2 lap/shoulder restraint system.
(c) No person, school district, or organization, with respect to a
schoolbus equipped with passenger restraint systems pursuant to this
section, may be charged for a violation of this code or any
regulation adopted thereunder requiring a passenger to use a
passenger restraint system, if a passenger on the schoolbus fails to
use or improperly uses the passenger restraint system.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature, in implementing this
section, that school pupil transportation providers work to
prioritize the allocation of schoolbuses purchased, leased, or
contracted for on or after July 1, 2004, for type 2 schoolbuses, or
on or after July 1, 2005, for type 1 schoolbuses, to ensure that
elementary level schoolbus passengers receive first priority for new
schoolbuses whenever feasible.
27316.5. (a) Unless specifically prohibited by the National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration, all type 2 school pupil
activity buses, manufactured on or after July 1, 2004, purchased or
leased for use in California shall be equipped at all designated
seating positions with a combination pelvic and upper torso passenger
restraint system.
(b) For purposes of this section, a "passenger restraint system"
is either of the following:
(1) A restraint system that is in compliance with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 209, for a type 2 seatbelt assembly, and with
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210, as those standards were
in effect on the date that the school pupil activity bus was
manufactured.
(2) A restraint system certified by the school pupil activity bus
manufacturer that is in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 222 and incorporates a type 2 lap-shoulder restraint system.
(c) No person, school district, or organization, with respect to a
type 2 school pupil activity bus equipped with passenger restraint
systems pursuant to this section, may be charged for a violation of
this code or any regulation adopted thereunder requiring a passenger
to use a passenger restraint system, if a passenger on the school
pupil activity bus fails to use or improperly uses the passenger
restraint system.
27317. Any person who installs or reinstalls for compensation, or
who distributes or sells any previously deployed air bag that is part
of an inflatable restraint system, if the person knows that the air
bag has been previously deployed, is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or by
confinement in the county jail for one year or by both that fine and
confinement.
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