AN
ACT Relating to child passenger restraint systems; amending RCW 46.61.687 and
46.61.688; adding a new section to chapter 46.61 RCW; creating new sections;
and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. The
legislature recognizes that fewer than five percent of all drivers use child
booster seats for children over the age of four years. The legislature also
recognizes that seventy-one percent of deaths resulting from car accidents
could be eliminated if every child under the age of sixteen used an appropriate
child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt. The legislature further
recognizes the National Transportation Safety Board's recommendations that
promote the use of booster seats to increase the safety of children under eight
years of age. Therefore, it is the legislature's intent to decrease deaths and
injuries to children by promoting safety education and injury prevention
measures, as well as increasing public awareness on ways to maximize the protection
of children in vehicles.
Sec.
2. RCW
46.61.687 and 1994 c 100 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
Whenever a child who is less than ((ten)) sixteen years of age is
being transported in a motor vehicle that is in operation and that is required
by RCW 46.37.510 to be equipped with a safety belt system in a passenger
seating position, the driver of the vehicle shall keep the child properly
restrained as follows:
(a)
If the child is less than six years old and/or sixty pounds and the
passenger seating position equipped with a safety belt system allows sufficient
space for installation, then the child will be restrained in a child restraint
system that complies with standards of the United States department of
transportation and that is secured in the vehicle in accordance with
instructions of the manufacturer of the child restraint system;
(b)
If the child is less than one year of age or weighs less than twenty pounds,
the child shall be properly restrained in a rear-facing infant seat;
(c)
If the child is more than one but less than ((three)) four
years of age or weighs less than forty pounds but at least twenty pounds,
the child shall be properly restrained in a forward facing child safety
seat restraint system ((that complies with standards of the United
States department of transportation and that is secured in the vehicle in
accordance with instructions of the manufacturer of the child restraint system));
(((b)))
(d) If the child is less than ((ten)) six but at least ((three))
four years of age or weighs less than sixty pounds but at least forty
pounds, the child shall be properly restrained ((either as
specified in (a) of this subsection or with a safety belt properly adjusted and
fastened around the child's body.)) in a child booster seat;
(e)
If the child is six years of age or older or weighs more than sixty pounds, the
child shall be properly restrained with the motor vehicle's safety belt properly
adjusted and fastened around the child's body or an appropriately fitting
booster seat; and
(f)
Enforcement of (a) through (e) of this subsection is subject to a visual
inspection by law enforcement to determine if the child restraint system in use
is appropriate for the child's individual height, weight, and age. The visual
inspection for usage of a forward facing child safety seat must ensure that the
seat in use is equipped with a four-point shoulder harness system. The visual
inspection for usage of a booster seat must ensure that the seat belt properly
fits across the child's lap and the shoulder strap crosses the center of the
child's chest. The visual inspection for the usage of a seat belt by a child
must ensure that the lap belt properly fits across the child's lap and the
shoulder strap crosses the center of the child's chest. In determining
violations, consideration to the above criteria must be given in conjunction
with the provisions of (a) through (e) of this subsection. The driver of a
vehicle transporting a child who is under the age of six years old or weighs
less than sixty pounds, when the vehicle is equipped with a passenger side air
bag supplemental restraint system, and the air bag system is activated, shall
transport the child in the back seat positions in the vehicle where it is
practical to do so.
(2)
A person violating subsection (1)(a) through (e) of this section may be
issued a notice of traffic infraction under chapter 46.63 RCW. If the person
to whom the notice was issued presents proof of acquisition of an approved
child passenger restraint system or a child booster seat, as appropriate,
within seven days to the jurisdiction issuing the notice and the person has
not previously had a violation of this section dismissed, the jurisdiction
shall dismiss the notice of traffic infraction.
(3)
Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall not constitute
negligence by a parent or legal guardian; nor shall failure to use a child
restraint system be admissible as evidence of negligence in any civil action.
(4)
This section does not apply to: (a) For hire vehicles, (b) vehicles designed
to transport sixteen or less passengers, including the driver, operated by auto
transportation companies, as defined in RCW 81.68.010, ((and)) (c)
vehicles providing customer shuttle service between parking, convention, and
hotel facilities, and airport terminals, and (d) school buses.
(5)
As used in this section "child booster seat" means a child passenger
restraint system that meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set
forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213 that is designed to elevate a child to properly sit
in a federally approved lap/shoulder belt system.
(6)
The requirements of subsection (1)(a) through (e) of this section do not apply
in any seating position where there is only a lap belt available and the child
weighs more than forty pounds.
Sec.
3. RCW
46.61.688 and 1990 c 250 s 58 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
For the purposes of this section, the term "motor vehicle" includes:
(a)
"Buses," meaning motor vehicles with motive power, except trailers,
designed to carry more than ten passengers;
(b)
"Multipurpose passenger vehicles," meaning motor vehicles with motive
power, except trailers, designed to carry ten persons or less that are
constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional
off-road operation;
(c)
"Passenger cars," meaning motor vehicles with motive power, except
multipurpose passenger vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers, designed for
carrying ten passengers or less; and
(d)
"Trucks," meaning motor vehicles with motive power, except trailers,
designed primarily for the transportation of property.
(2)
This section only applies to motor vehicles that meet the manual seat belt
safety standards as set forth in federal motor vehicle safety standard 208.
This section does not apply to a vehicle occupant for whom no safety belt is
available when all designated seating positions as required by federal motor
vehicle safety standard 208 are occupied.
(3)
Every person sixteen years of age or older operating or riding in a motor
vehicle shall wear the safety belt assembly in a properly adjusted and securely
fastened manner.
(4)
No person may operate a motor vehicle unless all child passengers under
the age of sixteen years are either: (a) Wearing a safety belt assembly
or (b) are securely fastened into an approved child restraint device.
(5)
A person violating this section shall be issued a notice of traffic infraction
under chapter 46.63 RCW. A finding that a person has committed a traffic
infraction under this section shall be contained in the driver's abstract but
shall not be available to insurance companies or employers.
(6)
Failure to comply with the requirements of this section does not constitute
negligence, nor may failure to wear a safety belt assembly be admissible as
evidence of negligence in any civil action.
(7)
Except for subsection (4)(b) of this section, which must be enforced as a
primary action, enforcement of this section by law enforcement officers may
be accomplished only as a secondary action when a driver of a motor vehicle has
been detained for a suspected violation of Title 46 RCW or an equivalent local
ordinance or some other offense.
(8)
This section does not apply to an operator or passenger who possesses written
verification from a licensed physician that the operator or passenger is unable
to wear a safety belt for physical or medical reasons.
(9)
The state patrol may adopt rules exempting operators or occupants of farm
vehicles, construction equipment, and vehicles that are required to make
frequent stops from the requirement of wearing safety belts.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 4. A
new section is added to chapter 46.61 RCW to read as follows:
The
traffic safety commission shall conduct an educational campaign using all
available methods to raise public awareness of the importance of properly
restraining child passengers and the value of seatbelts to adult motorists.
The traffic safety commission shall report to the transportation committees of
the legislature on the campaign and results observed on the highways. The
first report is due December 1, 2000, and annually thereafter.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 5. This
act may be known and cited as the Anton Skeen Act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This
act takes effect July 1, 2002.
