Public Act 097-0016
 
HB0219 EnrolledLRB097 05398 HEP 45456 b

    AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Section 12-603.1 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/12-603.1)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-603.1)
    Sec. 12-603.1. Driver and passenger required to use safety
belts, exceptions and penalty.
    (a) Each driver and front seat passenger of a motor vehicle
operated on a street or highway in this State shall wear a
properly adjusted and fastened seat safety belt. A ; except
that, a child less than 8 years of age shall be protected as
required pursuant to the Child Passenger Protection Act. Each
driver under the age of 18 years and each of the driver's
passengers under the age of 19 years of a motor vehicle
operated on a street or highway in this State shall wear a
properly adjusted and fastened seat safety belt. Every
passenger under the age of 19 in a vehicle being driven by a
person over the age of 18 who committed an offense against
traffic regulations governing the movement of vehicles or any
violation of this Section or Section 6-107 of this Code within
6 months prior to the driver's 18th birthday and was
subsequently convicted of the violation, shall wear a properly
adjusted and fastened seat safety belt, until such time as a
period of 6 consecutive months has elapsed without the driver
receiving an additional violation and subsequent conviction of
an offense against traffic regulations governing the movement
of vehicles or any violation of this Section or Section 6-107
of this Code. Each driver of a motor vehicle transporting a
child 8 years of age or more, but less than 16 years of age,
shall secure the child in a properly adjusted and fastened seat
safety belt as required under the Child Passenger Protection
Act. Each driver of a motor vehicle transporting a passenger
who is unable, due to infirmity, illness, or age, to properly
adjust and fasten a seat safety belt and is not exempted from
wearing a seat safety belt under subsection (b) shall secure
the passenger in a properly adjusted and fastened seat safety
belt as required under this Section.
    (b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to any of the following:
        1. A driver or passenger frequently stopping and
    leaving the vehicle or delivering property from the
    vehicle, if the speed of the vehicle between stops does not
    exceed 15 miles per hour.
        2. A driver or passenger possessing a written statement
    from a physician that such person is unable, for medical or
    physical reasons, to wear a seat safety belt.
        3. A driver or passenger possessing an official
    certificate or license endorsement issued by the
    appropriate agency in another state or country indicating
    that the driver is unable for medical, physical, or other
    valid reasons to wear a seat safety belt.
        4. A driver operating a motor vehicle in reverse.
        5. A motor vehicle with a model year prior to 1965.
        6. A motorcycle or motor driven cycle.
        7. A moped.
        8. A motor vehicle which is not required to be equipped
    with seat safety belts under federal law.
        9. A motor vehicle operated by a rural letter carrier
    of the United States postal service while performing duties
    as a rural letter carrier.
        10. A driver or passenger of an authorized emergency
    vehicle.
        11. A back seat passenger of a taxicab.
    (c) Failure to wear a seat safety belt in violation of this
Section shall not be considered evidence of negligence, shall
not limit the liability of an insurer, and shall not diminish
any recovery for damages arising out of the ownership,
maintenance, or operation of a motor vehicle.
    (d) A violation of this Section shall be a petty offense
and subject to a fine not to exceed $25.
    (e) (Blank).
    (f) A law enforcement officer may not search or inspect a
motor vehicle, its contents, the driver, or a passenger solely
because of a violation of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 95-310, eff. 1-1-08; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07;
96-554, eff. 1-1-10; 96-991, eff. 1-1-11; revised 7-22-10.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2012