We emphasize that, whether or not you are legally required to wear a seat belt, you should still wear a seat belt. Seat belts are legally required to be worn in Florida per Florida Seat Belt Laws. Your seatbelts can be located attached to the car seat.
There are plenty of dangers when on the road, and driving without a seat belt can result in severe injuries for everyone who isn’t wearing one.
Even when going out for a quick drive-thru, all drivers and front-seat passengers are legally required to wear a seatbelt at all times.
Safety Belts and Child Restraints
The Florida Seatbelt Law legally requires motor vehicle drivers, front-seat passengers, and children under 18 to wear seat belts as well as child restraint devices. A safety belt is a safety device designed to secure the driver or passenger against getting injured in a crash or a sudden stop.
The safety belt law in Florida is a primary enforcement law. Police officers can stop motor vehicles and issue tickets for not wearing seat belts.
Children aged five and under are required to be appropriately secured in child restraint devices under Florida Seat Belt Laws. The children should be in the rear seats on a separate carrier, integrated child seat, or booster seat until the age of 12 because front-seat airbags are dangerous to them.
You can read the official Florida Driver’s License Handbook for more information on seat belts, child restraints, and recalls. We emphasize that drivers, front passengers, and backseat passengers wear seatbelts no matter where they are planning to go to avoid getting injured during accidents.
Are Backseat Passengers Required To Wear A Seatbelt In Florida?
If you are aged 18 and above, you do not have to use a seat belt in the backseat. However, minors are still required to wear a safety belt, even in the back seat. Florida seat belt laws require children to wear a seatbelt attached to the car seat or use a booster seat.
Regardless of whether or not it’s required, we emphasize that you should always wear seat belts as drivers, front passengers, or backseat passengers. You can prevent severe injuries from happening during a car accident.
Are Backseat Seatbelts Really Safe?
Generally speaking, seatbelts are safe as much as they are essential. In a car accident, lives are saved because of wearing seatbelts. Although it is legally required, we emphasize that you should wear it even if it’s not.
Lap and chest seatbelts should prevent you from flying through your windshield during a car accident. It also helps passengers from getting severe injuries by colliding with the car’s interior. Seatbelts secure people to their seats and make them slow down or stop with the motor vehicles during an immediate stop or a car crash.
What Are The Fines For Not Wearing A Seat Belt In Florida?
Per the Florida seatbelt laws, not wearing a seatbelt is a primary traffic violation and is considered a primary offense. Police officers can pull you over for this and issue you a ticket for a fine of $35. It will also become a secondary traffic offense if you already got pulled over for a primary violation. Courts and counties can also apply additional fines.
The driver is held responsible and will pay the fine for all under 18 who are not wearing a seatbelt or required child safety seat. Moreover, the driver will receive 3 points on their license for the seat belt violation and can be avoided by taking driver safety school.
However, if the driver violates the child safety seat law, the fine will be higher. It can go up to $60 per violation and 3 points to the driver’s license. You can contact our lawyers for help and a free consultation about Florida Seat Belt Laws.
What are exceptions to Seat Belt Law in Florida?
Per Florida law, people over the age of 18 are not required to wear a seat belt. Minors diagnosed with medical conditions may not use a seat belt. However, they must present the doctor’s note to the police officer serving the ticket or to the court to dispute it.
The Florida seatbelt law requires all drivers and passengers to use a seat belt except employees of a newspaper home delivery service, school buses purchased before December 31, 2000, buses used for transporting people for compensation, farm equipment, and trucks with a net weight of more than 26,000 pounds.
Is Florida A Secondary Seat Belt Law State?
Florida is a secondary seatbelt law state where police officers can serve a ticket to drivers pulled over for a different offense, such as speeding. The police will serve a ticket to drivers and front-seat passengers for not wearing a seat belt.
The police at local law enforcement agencies can also ticket drivers for the minors in their vehicle who are not using a safety belt or have improper child safety restraints. Under the Florida safety belt law, you are legally required to use a seatbelt.
However, suppose your car seat seatbelt is not working and results in serious injuries or death. In that case, you can contact our law firm for a free case evaluation. We can start building your personal injury or wrongful death case to get you the proper compensation you need for a seatbelt failure.
Why Should I Buckle Up My Seat-belt?
We emphasize that whether or not wearing a seatbelt is legally required, you should still use a seat belt. A seat belt keeps you from being ejected from your car be thrown against other passengers during a crash.
If you are the driver, your seat belt can also keep you behind the wheel to control the car. Wear your seat belt around your hips and across your chest; otherwise, it won’t work. Airbags are not a substitute for seatbelts.
Accidents happen when driving at high speeds, and the unrestrained passenger can be ejected from their seat and can result in a serious injury.
Seat-belts Prevent Accident Injuries
41% of people in Florida car crashes chose not to wear their seat belts. Hundreds of people who died in those car crashes had the option to wear their seat belts, but they chose not to wear one.
Men are twice as likely to be killed in a car crash than females for not wearing a seat belt. Seat belts can help prevent serious injuries or, worse, death. Your injuries from car accidents may lead to a harmful medical condition that will stop you from ever getting behind the steering wheel again.
Every time you and other people get into your motor vehicles, you should tell them always to use a seat belt. Teach your kids that no one is too young or too old to wear a seatbelt, no matter how short the trip can be. Seat belt laws require, but you can help other people make it a habit to prevent them from getting into serious harm.
Florida’s Click It Or Ticket Campaign
The Click It or Ticket (CIOT) campaign is a high-visibility enforcement effort designed to detect violators of Florida’s traffic laws, emphasizing occupant protection.
An intense paid media campaign is conducted concurrently with high-visibility enforcement to elevate the importance of the benefits of safety belt use. This campaign includes the issuance of citations for safety belt violations.
Florida Seat Belt Law FAQs
Here are the frequently asked questions regarding Florida Seat Belt Laws:
What does the Florida Seat Belt Law require?
The seatbelt laws in Florida are pretty straightforward. According to Florida laws, drivers and front passengers are required to wear seatbelts.
Florida laws also state that backseat passengers under the age of 18 are required to wear seatbelts. If they have a medical condition, they may present it to the police officer citing the offense or in court to dispute the offense.
Do you get points for not wearing a seatbelt in Florida?
Drivers who fail to wear their seatbelts will get 3 points on their driver’s license. These drivers can also face traffic school and can face increased car insurance prices.
Drivers and passengers over 18 can be cited if other passengers under 18 are not wearing their seatbelts.
What offense is not wearing a seatbelt in Florida?
Not wearing a seatbelt in Florida is now a primary traffic offense. Police can now stop any vehicle and issue tickets for drivers and passengers not wearing seatbelts.
This law was passed in 2009, making wearing a seatbelt a requirement for all drivers and passengers over 18.
Contact Us Today To Know More About Florida’s Seatbelt Laws
Sometimes a seat belt fails to work and can cause a severe injury or even death. Get a ticket or are seriously injured in car accidents with seatbelt issues. You can contact us at (786) 788-7344 for a free consultation to start building a personal injury or wrongful death case.