Bill > S2125

Introduced Session

This bill makes it a primary offense to violate the law requiring a rear seat motor vehicle passenger to wear a seat belt. Under current law, failure to wear a seatbelt in the rear seat of a motor vehicle constitutes a secondary offense, which means a law enforcement officer cannot stop and issue a ticket to a person solely for a violation of the rear seat belt law, but only when the motor vehicle has been stopped for some other suspected violation of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or other law. This bill repeals the current law requiring that enforcement of the rear seat safety belt law be accomplished by treating a violation as a secondary offense. In addition, one year after the effective date of this bill, all State and local law enforcement agencies are required to submit a report to the Attorney General containing information from the preceding year on any traffic stop where a passenger received a citation for a violation of subsection c. of section 2 of P.L.1984, c.179 (C.39:3-76.2f). The information is to include the alleged traffic violation that led to the motor vehicle stop, any citation or warning issued as a result of the motor vehicle stop, whether a search was instituted as a result of the motor vehicle stop, and whether the motor vehicle stop led to an arrest of a driver or any passenger of the vehicle. The Attorney General is to compare the data contained in this report with any traffic stop data available from two years prior to the effective date of this bill, in order to determine the effect of the implementation of this bill on law enforcement practices. Within six months of receiving a report by State and local law enforcement agencies, the Attorney General is to issue a report to the Governor and the Legislature which details the Attorney General's conclusions regarding the impact of this act on law enforcement practices. Finally, the bill provides that information pertaining to the implementation of this bill is to be included in the State of New Jersey Highway Safety Plan sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration. The information is to include, but not be limited to, the effect of the implementation of this act on the number of injuries and fatalities resulting from motor vehicle accidents in this State.

Committee Categories

Tony Bucco (R)*,  Holly Schepisi (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document