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Committee advances bill to clarify seat-belt responsibility for drivers and minors
Summary
The House Transportation Committee reported House Bill 1093, which removes an "and" from the current statute so officers can cite either a minor driver or a minor passenger for failing to wear a seat belt; the measure passed committee on a roll call, 17-9.
The House Transportation Committee voted to report House Bill 1093, introduced by Representative Dave Madsen, which clarifies Pennsylvania’s seat-belt statute as it pertains to drivers and passengers under age 18 by removing a conjunctive "and" so that law enforcement may cite a minor driver or a minor passenger — or both — for failing to wear a seat belt.
Representative Dave Madsen, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure "clarifies driver's responsibility, ensure minors are safely buckled in. It's about keeping our kids safe and saving lives. The bill doesn't create new penalties. It simply reorganizes the law so that there's no confusion about who's responsible." He added the change aligns enforcement with what he said most Pennsylvanians already believe.
Committee discussion focused on how the statutory change would be enforced and whether it would allow an officer to issue separate citations to a single driver for a driver violation and for unbelted passengers. Chairman Benninghoff said he was concerned the change "gives law enforcement . . . to not only find the driver for not having seat belt, but they will be accountable for every person in that car," and said the result could be "an awful lot to as an imposition." Kyle, committee staff, clarified the enforcement interpretation: "it is our current understanding based on, presentations made by the state police and AAA, that because of the way the statute is written now with that and provision in there, there are certain law enforcement agencies who are not issuing any citations to minor drivers or minor passengers for failure to wear a seat belt because they are interpreting the law to mean that you have to have both violations occurring at the same time ... Under this bill, as drafted by removing the and provision, we are making it so that you can now be charged with either violation or both violations. It would be up to the officer." Kyle added that a driver could be cited solely for not wearing a seat belt and separately for passengers under 18 who are unbelted.
Representative Schusterman said the clarification did not alleviate his concerns, and he indicated he would likely vote no unless amendments were added on the floor. Representative Carey urged support, saying the measure helps teach responsibility for young drivers and stresses safety.
On roll call the committee recorded 17 ayes and 9 noes. Recorded yes votes included Chairman Nielsen; Bellman; Curry; Guzman (designation); Hohenstein; Isaacson; Madsen; McAndrew (designation); Mullins (designation); O'Meara; Powell; Sappy; Shusterman; Siegel; Labs; Sharon; and Talmadson. Recorded no votes included Chairman Benninghoff; Bernstein; Devanzo; Flood; Ham; Ring Cabbage; Schmidt; Smith; and Standby. House Bill 1093 was reported as committed.
