Vermont § 1259 - Safety belts; persons 18 years of age or older

§ 1259. Safety belts; persons 18 years of age or older

• (a) The operator of a motor vehicle shall be guilty of a violation of this section if
  any person 18 years of age or older is occupying a seating position that has been
  manufactured with a federally approved safety belt system and is not restrained by
  the safety belt system while the motor vehicle is in motion on a public highway. (b) A person is required to be restrained in a safety belt system unless: (1) the person is a rural mail carrier of the U.S. Postal Service operating a motor vehicle
  in the performance of employment; (2) the person is a driver or passenger frequently stopping and leaving the motor vehicle
  or delivering property from the motor vehicle, if the speed of the motor vehicle between
  stops does not exceed 15 miles per hour; (3) the person is the operator of any farm tractor; (4) the person is a member of the emergency personnel of an emergency motor vehicle and
  finds it necessary to be unrestrained in order to perform his or her duties; (5) the motor vehicle the person is occupying is a bus or taxi; (6) the person is required to be restrained under section 1258 of this title; or (7) the person has been ordered by an enforcement officer, a firefighter, or an authorized
  civil authority to evacuate persons from a stricken area. (c) Noncompliance with the provisions of this section shall not be admissible as evidence
  in any civil proceeding. (d) Failure to wear a safety belt in violation of this section shall not constitute negligence
  or contributory negligence in any civil proceeding or criminal action, nor be entered
  as evidence to bar prosecution of a criminal offense. (e) This section may be enforced only if a law enforcement officer has detained the operator
  of a motor vehicle for another suspected traffic violation. An operator shall not
  be subject to the penalty established in this section unless the operator is required
  to pay a penalty for the primary violation. (f) The penalty for violation of this section shall be as follows: (1) $25.00 for a first violation; (2) $50.00 for a second violation; and (3) $100.00 for third and subsequent violations. (Added 1993, No. 18, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; amended 2001, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 2003, No. 28, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; 2005, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 62; 2009, No. 150 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. June 1, 2010; 2015, No. 47, § 42; 2021, No. 20, § 243; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 419, eff. July 1, 2022.)