Massachusetts Seat Belt Law:
Operators & Passengers,
Including Children Age 12 and Over
Chapter 90 Section 13A states;
No
person shall operate a private passenger motor vehicle or ride in
a private passenger motor vehicle, a vanpool vehicle or truck
under eighteen thousand pounds on any way unless such person is
wearing a safety belt which is properly adjusted and fastened;
provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to:
(a) any child less than 12 years of age who is subject to the
provisions of section
7AA;
(b) any person riding in a motor vehicle manufactured before
July 1, 1966;
(c) any person who is physically unable to use safety belts;
provided, however, that such condition is duly certified by a
physician who shall state the nature of the handicap, as well as
the reasons such restraint is inappropriate; provided, further,
that no such physician shall be subject to liability in any civil
action for the issuance or for the failure to issue such
certificate;
(d) any rural carrier of the United States Postal Service
operating a motor vehicle while in the performance of his duties;
provided, however, that such rural mail carrier shall be subject
to department regulations regarding the use of safety belts or
occupant crash protection devices;
(e) anyone involved in the operation of taxis, liveries,
tractors, trucks with gross weight of eighteen thousand pounds or
over, buses, and passengers of authorized emergency vehicles.
Any person who operates a motor vehicle without a
safety belt, and any person sixteen years of age or over who rides
as a passenger in a motor vehicle without wearing a safety belt in
violation of this section, shall be subject to a fine of
twenty-five dollars. Any operator of a motor vehicle shall be
subject to an additional fine of twenty-five dollars for each
person under the age of sixteen and no younger than twelve who is
a passenger in said motor vehicle and not wearing a safety belt.
The provisions of this section shall be enforced by law
enforcement agencies only when an operator of a motor vehicle has
been stopped for a violation of the motor vehicle laws or some
other offense.
Any person who receives a citation for violating
this section may contest such citation pursuant to section
three of chapter ninety C. A violation of this section shall
not be considered as a conviction of a moving violation of the
motor vehicle laws for the purpose of determining surcharges on
motor vehicle premiums pursuant to section
one hundred and thirteen B of chapter one hundred and seventy-five
Program