Minnesota Session Laws - 1987, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1987 

                         CHAPTER 73-H.F.No. 29 
           An act relating to traffic regulations; requiring 
          motor vehicle operators to use child passenger 
          restraint system when transporting child under age of 
          four; assessing court costs to violator under certain 
          conditions; imposing penalty; amending Minnesota 
          Statutes 1986, section 169.685, subdivision 5, and by 
          adding a subdivision. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 169.685, 
subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 5.  (a) Every parent or legal guardian of a child 
under the age of four years residing in this state motor vehicle 
operator, when transporting the a child under the age of four on 
the streets and highways of this state in a motor vehicle that 
is owned by the parent or guardian and was equipped with 
factory-installed seat belts, shall equip and install for use in 
the motor vehicle, according to the manufacturer's instructions, 
a child passenger restraint system meeting federal motor vehicle 
safety standards.  
    (b) No parent or legal guardian of a child under the age of 
four years residing in this state motor vehicle operator who is 
operating a motor vehicle on the streets and highways of this 
state may transport the a child under the age of four in a seat 
of the a motor vehicle that was equipped with a 
factory-installed seat belt, unless the child is securely 
properly fastened in the child passenger restraint system.  
Any parent or legal guardian motor vehicle operator who violates 
the provisions of this subdivision is guilty of a petty 
misdemeanor and may be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than 
$25.  No penalty under clause (a) of this subdivision may be 
applied to a person who shows satisfactory evidence to the 
county court or violations bureau, in person or by mail, of 
having purchased or otherwise obtained the use of a child 
restraint system meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards, 
within 30 days of the violation.  No fine may be imposed for a 
violation which is not a second or subsequent violation within a 
one-year period.  A fine for a violation of this subdivision 
which is a petty misdemeanor may not exceed $25. 
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 169.685, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 6.  (a) This section does not apply to: 
    (1) a person transporting a child in an emergency medical 
vehicle while in the performance of official duties and when the 
physical or medical needs of the child make the use of a child 
passenger restraint system unreasonable or when a child 
passenger restraint system is not available; 
    (2) a peace officer transporting a child while in the 
performance of official duties and when a child passenger 
restraint system is not available, provided that a seat belt 
must be substituted; and 
    (3) a person while operating a motor vehicle for hire, 
including a taxi, airport limousine, and bus, but excluding a 
rented, leased, or borrowed motor vehicle. 
     (b) A child passenger restraint system is not required for 
a child who cannot, in the judgment of a licensed physician, be 
safely transported in a child passenger restraint system because 
of a medical condition, body size, or physical disability.  A 
motor vehicle operator claiming exemption for a child under this 
paragraph must possess a typewritten statement from the 
physician stating that the child cannot be safely transported in 
a child passenger restraint system.  The statement must give the 
name and birth date of the child, be dated within the previous 
six months, and be made on the physician's letterhead or contain 
the physician's name, address, and telephone number.  A person 
charged with violating subdivision 5 may not be convicted if the 
person produces the physician's statement in court or in the 
office of the arresting officer. 
    Approved May 11, 1987