Arizona Seatbelt Laws Guide
The purpose of Arizona’s seatbelt law is to protect a person from being injured during a crash or during times of sudden deceleration or stops. But seatbelts are not just for the people sitting in the front seats of a vehicle. All of a vehicle’s passengers, including those in the backseat, are required to wear a seatbelt in the state of Arizona. This law applies to any vehicle that is subject to Arizona’s motor vehicle financial responsibility laws. Unfortunately , Arizona Department of Transportation statistics show that when it comes to seatbelt use, passengers in the backseat are far less likely to buckle up than front seat passengers in the same vehicle. The reality is that whether you’re in the front or back of a vehicle, you’re never more than a few moments away from an accident. For this reason, the law requires the driver and all of the front and backseat passengers in a vehicle to be buckled-up while the vehicle is in transit.
Required Seatbelts in the Back Seat
The Arizona seatbelt law requires that all passengers must be restrained by a seat belt. In Arizona, all drivers must ensure that their passengers are properly seated and secured by seat belts. This applies to adults as well as minors. In the back seat of a vehicle, the law requires all passengers age 16 and over to be restrained by their seat belts (18 and over to be cited with a violation). For those under the age of 16, there are several requirements that differ from those in the front seat. First, all passengers under the age of 16 must be restrained by a seatbelt. Second, if someone under the age of 16 is seated in the middle, they may also need to be in a booster seat if the seat and the safety belts offered do not fit them properly. Third, if a child under the age of 5 is seated in a vehicle with lap and shoulder belts and does not appear to be maintained in a booster seat, the driver of the car will have to provide documentation to the police officer. Failure to provide such documentation could result in a fine and potential criminal charges, such as child endangerment, and child abuse.
Penalties for Failure to Buckle Up
The penalties for failure to use a seatbelt as a passenger in the back seat are the same as if the driver was not using a seatbelt. A class 2 misdemeanor (as of 2006) is punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to four months in jail. While the fine may not seem like much, a class 2 misdemeanor gives the Court jurisdiction to keep you on probation and while you are on probation, you will have to pay fees and or perform community service and this could all happen even with just a first offense. (Note: you can get reduced to a class 3 misdemeanor if you have no prior criminal history.) You can also be hit with a civil penalty from the Motor Vehicle Department or Arizona Department of Economic Security or Health Services (for examples, if your Medicaid funds were used for the medical expense related to the injury) and they are significantly harsher than you will ever see from the Court.
Additionally, the individual being charged with the failure to be in a seatbelt can also include responsibility for the crash itself or be used as an excuse as to why the injuries are more severe than they would have been if the person was wearing a seatbelt. Here, this can be major for the driver and other defendants in some cases and can result in a major decrease in their exposure. This is important because if the victim is getting government assistance, they can try and make the defendants or their insurance company reimburse them for the funds expended (although this does not happen often and it typically only happens when there is a substantial amount of funds paid out for the treatment of the injuries).
There was a major change to the seatbelt law in 2010 which made it so that even if the person not in the seatbelt is ejected or thrown from the car in the crash, there cannot be a decrease in damages due to the seatbelt law violation.
Exemptions to the Back Seat Seatbelt Law
There are several exceptions to the back seat seatbelt law in Arizona. The law does not require seatbelt use by passengers who are:
- Physically restrained by an occupying compartment structure or secured by seat belts;
- Transported in a motor vehicle not equipped with seat belts;
- Transported in a table model truck manufactured before 1972, or seats that are manufactured as part of the tables not equipped with seat belts;
- Member of the passenger’s own household who is 16 years of age or older;
- Medical professionals in the course of their profession are exempt from wearing seatbelts in relation to their employment, provided that they determine the necessity to wear one and record that decision in writing, absent which, the exception will not apply.
- Passengers in special passenger busses used for the purposes of transporting social services clients and providing non-emergency medical transportation.
- Passengers in sacks or trailers towed by trucks.
- Passengers in farm tractors, road construction machinery, mobile equipment and trailers transported on the highways as a part of its duties.
- Passengers in trucks or buses that do not have seat belts for both the driver and all passengers.
- Passengers in pick-up trucks that are not equipped with seats or seat belts.
- Passengers who are operating on the roadway in an emergency response vehicle, ambulance, police or law enforcement vehicle; military vehicle, fire department vehicle or public transportation bus.
Advantages of Buckling Up in the Back Seat
Even though the law doesn’t require seatbelts to be worn in the back seat if you’re over 16, it is always in your best interest to wear a seatbelt. And, because you can’t count on other back seat passengers following the law, and because even the most careful driver may have an accident that doesn’t include everyone following the law, back seat seatbelt use should be compulsory in the family car.
There are many reasons for enforcing back seat seatbelt use.
First, there are still many accidents where the occupant is not wearing a seatbelt, and in fact, in some states that statics shows that from 2005 to 2014 in the United States, front seat occupants without a seatbelt were 30.3 times more likely to be killed than those who wore a seatbelt. Those in the back seat without a seatbelt were 32.3 times more likely to be killed than those wearing a seatbelt. Although the law only requires seatbelts for front seat passengers older than 16, those statistics show how important it is to incorporate consistent backseat use.
Second, in an accident, the unrestrained tenants of the back seat can become projectiles that slam forward in the vehicle and hit a front seat passenger. That projectile can also make a passenger in your vehicle the cause of physical harm to others vehicle in your lane.
Third, even if everyone in the vehicle is adhering to the law (rare) , you are still 1.5 times more likely to be killed in the back seat than the front seat, and even rear facing child seats are at risk. The point being that even those in the back seat need some protection in the event of sudden stops, and if you want everyone to adhere to the law, you’d better protect yourself by enforcing everyone to buckle up.
Fourth, you should be able to trust that whatever the reason for your use of a back seat seatbelt, others will follow suit so that you aren’t, yourself, at risk in the event your driver gets distracted. Buckling up now takes on a whole new benefit of knowing that you have saved someone else from harm as well.
Finally, who holds the other person accountable if an injury results from their lack of a seatbelt while seated in the back? Peace of mind is priceless when driving in the car with others who may not do the right thing. If everyone is wearing a seatbelt, it’s easier to chalk up the other person’s behavior as just that: bad luck. But if the law requires it, and they don’t adhere, you are uncertain whether to chalk it up to bad luck or negligence.
The bottom line is this: if you want to be protected in a car accident, if you don’t want the risk of others putting you in danger due to their negligence, and if you want peace of mind, you should always wear a seatbelt. What’s your excuse for not doing so?
Getting Passengers to Use Seatbelts in the Back Seat
GPS Tracking And Monitoring: In some cases, parents can now purchase child monitoring devices that will attach to a child’s seatbelt. The device tracks and monitors the child’s seatbelt use, encouraging compliance with the state seatbelt law. The device communicates real time data with the parent’s smartphone to ensure consistent seatbelt use.
Model Seatbelt Use: Your children learn by example. If you buckle up, they’ll buckle up. This is particularly true if you often have other kids in your car. For example, if you frequently have your child’s friends in the car, they’ll be inclined to buckle up if they see you constantly buckling up.
Highlight the Benefits of Buckling Up: If a child understands why they should buckle up, the child will be more inclined to buckle up. For example, if they know their mom can’t afford another car; or they understand that injuries can have a lifelong impact, they will be more inclined to wear their seatbelt, particularly if they are old enough to understand.
Consider the Realities: At some point, children will insist on not buckling up, particularly when they are older. In these instances, certain parents opt to "pick their battles." This means letting some things slide, but insisting on full compliance with the seatbelt laws. The idea is that certain things matter more than others. And even if you’ve tried everything you can, sometimes it’s just better to move on. Other times, the child’s resistance can be dangerous, and it’s just important to insist on it. If nothing works, you may just need to accept that the child will have to learn for themselves the importance of bell buckling up.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the seatbelt laws in Arizona are designed to protect everyone in the vehicle, including back seat passengers. While the statistics may seem to show that back seat passengers are less likely to be injured or killed than those in the front seats , it is still very important that everyone in the vehicle fasten their seatbelts. The seatbelt is one of the most important forms of protection that back seat passengers have in the event of a car crash. Whether they are figured into the cases or not, seatbelt injuries and deaths are all too common and preventable. This is enough reason to consistently wear your seatbelt, even in the back seat. Fastening your seatbelt can prevent you from having much worse injuries in the event of a car crash.