Committee hears multiple bills on seat belts: primary enforcement, rear-facing car seats and school-bus restraints

The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security heard testimony on a suite of bills aimed at increasing occupant safety in motor vehicles and on school buses, including primary enforcement of the seat-belt law, a rear-facing car-seat requirement for children under 2, and mandated lap-shoulder belts on newly manufactured large school buses.

Witnesses representing advocacy groups, insurers, health and brain-injury organizations, and federal transportation safety officials urged the committee to act. Christina Hayman of AAA Northeast supported both a rear-facing car-seat law and “primary” seat-belt enforcement. Kelly Buttilieri of the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts gave personal testimony about surviving a crash and urged passage of primary enforcement to prevent traumatic brain injuries.

Christopher Stark, executive director of the Mass Insurance Federation, said rising roadway fatalities and severe bodily-injury claims since 2019 make roadway-safety legislation a priority; he and his members supported the primary-seatbelt bill (H.2668/S.1699) and related measures for school buses and child seats. NTSB representative Sofia Purozada testified in favor of mandating passenger lap-shoulder belts on new large school buses and said properly worn lap-shoulder belts “would have lessened injuries and saved lives” in crashes the agency has investigated.

Why it matters: Proponents cited national safety research and crash investigations demonstrating that seat belts and rear-facing seats reduce injury risk. Advocates urged the committee to adopt primary enforcement for seat belts — which allows officers to stop vehicles for belt violations — to increase compliance and reduce fatalities. Testimony included data on state seat-belt use rates and historical Massachusetts rankings: AAA cited an 80 percent belt-use rate in Massachusetts compared with a 91 percent national average.

Lawmakers raised practical questions including cost and implementation. Senators and representatives asked whether districts or bus providers would face significant financial burdens to retrofit buses with belts or replace fleets; witnesses said some states phase in requirements and that districts can address costs over time. Senator O’Connor, who sponsored a school-bus seat-belt bill, said the requirement would align Massachusetts with eight other states that require bus seat belts and cited 13,000 injuries on school buses over a 10-year period as the basis for action.

No committee votes were recorded at the hearing. Multiple witnesses urged the committee to report bills favorably and to press for floor votes. Supporters recommended aligning bills across chambers and considering grandfathering or phased implementation to address fiscal concerns.