Minnesota Session Laws - 1986, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1986 

                         CHAPTER 310-S.F.No. 40 
           An act relating to transportation; traffic regulations;
          defining "passenger vehicle"; requiring use of seat 
          belts by passenger vehicle drivers and passengers; 
          amending Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 169.01, by 
          adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in 
          Minnesota Statutes, chapter 169. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 169.01, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 3a.  [PASSENGER VEHICLE.] "Passenger vehicle" means a 
passenger automobile defined in section 168.011, subdivision 7; 
a pickup truck defined in section 168.011, subdivision 29; a van 
defined in section 168.011, subdivision 28; and a 
self-propelled, recreational vehicle licensed under chapter 168 
to use the public streets or highways.  "Passenger vehicle" does 
not include a motorcycle, motorized bicycle, bus, school bus, a 
vehicle designed to operate exclusively on railroad tracks, a 
farm truck defined in section 168.011, subdivision 17, or 
special mobile equipment defined in section 168.011, subdivision 
22. 
    Sec. 2.  [169.684] [DECLARATION OF POLICY.] 
    It is the policy of this state that enactment of a 
mandatory automobile seat belt usage law is intended to be 
compatible with support for federal safety standards requiring 
automatic crash protection, and should not be used in any manner 
to rescind federal automatic crash protection system 
requirements for new vehicles. 
    Sec. 3.  [169.686] [SEAT BELT USE REQUIRED; PENALTY.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [SEAT BELT REQUIREMENT.] (a) A properly 
adjusted and fastened seat belt shall be worn by: 
    (1) the driver of a passenger vehicle; 
    (2) a passenger riding in the front seat of a passenger 
vehicle; and 
    (3) a passenger under the age of 11 riding in any seat of a 
passenger vehicle. 
    A violation of this subdivision shall not result in a fine 
but is punishable only by a safety warning.  A violation of this 
subdivision may not be recorded on the driving record of any 
person.  
    Subd. 2.  [SEAT BELT EXEMPTIONS.] This section shall not 
apply to: 
    (1) a person driving a passenger vehicle in reverse; 
    (2) a person riding in a seat in which all the seating 
positions equipped with safety belts are occupied by other 
persons; 
    (3) a person who is in possession of a written certificate 
from a licensed physician verifying that because of medical 
unfitness or physical disability the person is unable to wear a 
seat belt; 
    (4) a person who is actually engaged in work that requires 
him to alight from and reenter a passenger vehicle at frequent 
intervals and who, while engaged in that work, does not drive or 
travel in that vehicle at a speed exceeding 25 miles per hour; 
    (5) a rural mail carrier of the United States Postal 
Service while in the performance of his or her duties; 
    (6) a person driving or riding in a passenger vehicle 
manufactured before January 1, 1965; and 
    (7) a person driving or riding in a pickup truck, as 
defined in section 168.011, subdivision 29, while engaged in 
normal farming work or activity. 
    Approved February 24, 1986