Seat Belts:

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All passengers 16 years of age or older and each driver of a passenger motor vehicle manufactured with seat belts shall have a seat belt properly fastened about his or her body at all times when the vehicle is in forward motion on a street or highway in this state.

Exemptions to the seat belt law:

• Persons with verified, physical conditions preventing the use of a seat belt;
  
  
• Persons with a certified phobia of seat belts;
  
  
• Rural letter carriers during the performance of work-related duties and newspaper delivery persons while actually engaged in delivery of newspapers along the person's specified route;
  
  
• A driver or passenger frequently stopping and leaving the vehicle or delivering property from the vehicle if the speed of the vehicle between stops does not exceed 20 miles per hour;
  
  
• Any vehicle registered and licensed as a property-carrying vehicle while being used for agricultural or commercial purposes;
  
  
• A motor vehicle not required to be equipped with seat belts under federal law;
  
  
• Any occupant of a motor home other than the driver and the front seat passengers, provided the motor home has at least four of the following facilities: cooking, refrigeration or icebox, self-contained toilet, heating or air-conditioning, portable water supply system with a faucet and sink, separate 110-115-volt electrical power supply or an LP gas supply.

Exemptions to the child passenger safety law:

• Situations where all seating positions equipped with seat belts are occupied;
  
  
• Vehicles not required by law to be equipped with seat belts.

Child Safety:

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Every driver transporting one or more passengers that are less than 16 years of age must make sure that each passenger under age 16 is properly secured in a child passenger restraint system or a seat belt which meets the federal safety standards that were in effect at the time it was manufactured. A child under eight years of age and under 80 pounds in weight must be properly secured in a weight appropriate child passenger restraint system. If the vehicle is equipped with an active passenger-side front air bag, and the vehicle has a rear seat, then a child less than five years old and less than 40 pounds in weight must be properly secured in the rear seat unless the child restraint system is designed for use with a front air bag system. If there are no available seating positions in the vehicle that are equipped with a lap and shoulder belt to properly secure the weight appropriate child restraint system, a child less than eight years of age and between 40 and 80 pounds can be restrained by a properly fitted lap belt only.

Child Safety Seats:

Each year hundreds of North Carolina children are seriously injured or killed in automobile crashes. In fact, the number one threat to the lives of young children is the automobile accident. Only crash-tested child safety seats can reduce these senseless tragedies. Since small children cannot make safety choices for themselves, adults must make sure children are protected every time they ride in cars. Infants and small children must be placed in safety seats that are specially designed for them and have been crash-tested. Properly used safety seats could save seven out of every ten children who are killed while unrestrained. Always read and follow the manufacturer's instructions for using the safety seat. The best seat for your child is a safety seat that is used every time the child rides in a car. It must fit in your car(s) and have a harness or shield system that is comfortable for the child. The seat should be one you are able and willing to use every time an infant or small child rides in your car. Safety seats are often available through low-cost rental programs operated by local service groups, hospitals and health departments.

For information about child safety seats, contact: University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center Bolin Creek Building 730 Martin Luther King Blvd. Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514-5738 Ph: (1-800-672-4527) (in NC only) or (919) 962-2202

Child SafetyBooster Seats and Safety Belts for Children:

Booster seats that meet federal motor vehicle safety standards should be used for children who have outgrown their standard safety seats until they are big enough for seat belts. Adult safety belts should not be used for children until they are big enough for the seat belt to fit correctly. The lap safety belt must fit snugly across the child's hips, not across the stomach. The shoulder portion of a lap/shoulder belt must fall across the shoulder and chest, not across the face or throat. For shoulder belts that do not fit, belt-positioning booster seats designed to raise a child up for a proper fit of the lap and shoulder belts are readily available.

Automatic Restraints:

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Equipment may vary from air bags that inflate upon impact to shoulder harnesses that automatically wrap around occupants. Under the safety belt law, front seat occupants MUST wear safety belts even if the vehicle is equipped with air bags. If the vehicle is equipped with automatic shoulder harnesses, the lap belt MUST also be worn.

Children and Air Bags:

Air bags save lives. They work best when everyone is buckled and children are properly restrained in the back seat. Children riding in the front seat can be seriously injured or killed when an air bag comes out in a crash. An air bag is not a soft, billowy pillow. To do its important job, an air bag comes out of the dashboard at up to 200 miles per hour - faster than the blink of an eye. The force of an air bag can hurt those who are too close to it. Drivers can help prevent air bag-related injuries to adults and children by following these critical safety points: Child Safety Points: Children 12 and under should ride buckled up in a rear seat. Infants in rear-facing child safety seats should never ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag. Small children should ride in a rear seat in child safety seats approved for their age and size. Adult Safety Points: Everyone should buckle-up with both lap and shoulder belts on every trip. Air bags are supplemental protection devices. The lap belt should be worn under the abdomen and low across the hips. The shoulder portion should com over the collar bone away from the neck and cross over the breast bone. The shoulder belt in most new cars can be adjusted on the side pillar to improve fit. Driver and front passenger seats should be moved as far back as practical, particularly for shorter-statured people.

Transporting Children in the Back of a Pickup Truck:

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On January 1, 1995, a separate NC law went into effect that prohibits children less than age twelve from riding in the open bed of a pick-up truck. (NCGS §20-135.2B) An open bed or open cargo area is a bed or cargo area without permanent overhead restraining construction. The operator of the vehicle having an open bed or open cargo is responsible for compliance with this law. The statute does, however, contain some exemptions. The provisions for proper securement of children do not apply:

• If an adult is present in the bed or cargo area of the vehicle and is supervising the child;
  
  
• If the child is secured or restrained by a seatbelt manufactured in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, installed to support a load strength of not less than 5,000 pounds for each belt, and of a type approved by the Commissioner;
  
  
• If an emergency situation exists;
  
  
• If the vehicle is being operated in a parade pursuant to a valid permit;
  
  
• If the vehicle is being operated in an agricultural enterprise; or
  
  
• If the vehicle is being operated in a county which has no incorporated area with a population in excess of 3,500.

Violators are issued tickets and are subject to a fine of $25.00. Violations of this law have been defined as "infractions" and do not incur court costs, driver license points or insurance surcharges.

The following 32 counties are exempt from the "pickup truck" law based on the absence of incorporated areas with populations exceeding 3,500:

Alexander Alleghany Ashe Avery Bertie Camden Caswell Cherokee Clay Currituck Duplin Franklin Gates Graham Green Hyde

Jackson Jones Macon Madison Mitchell Montgomery Northhampton Pamlico Pender Perquimans Polk Swain Tyrrell Warren Yadkin Yancey