from Click
Here to get Started Texas Approved Defensive Driving
Course for Ticket Dismissal and Insurance Discount
Occupant
Restraints
Seatbelts
Texas law requires that you
use your safety belt. If your vehicle was originally equipped
with seatbelts, it must have a them installed. The 1997
traffic safety statistics for Houston revealed that 61 percent
of children were not properly restrained by seat belts or
child safety seats.You and your passengers must wear a safety
belt in the front seat while the car is in motion. If you
do not wear your safety belts, you or your passenger (age
17 and older) may be given a traffic ticket. The same 1997
statistics for Houston reveal that 60 percent of adult drivers
and passengers did not wear seat belts.
According to the Texas DOT,
A person is required to wear a seatbelt if he or she:
is at least 15 years of
age;
is riding in the front seat
of a passenger vehicle while the vehicle is being
operated;
is occupying a seat that
is equipped with a safety belt; and
is not secured by a safety
belt; or
as the operator of a school
bus equipped with a safety belt for the operator's
seat, the person is not secured by
the safety belt.
There are some exceptions to
the law for farm workers, mail carriers and passengers
with medical concerns.
Safety
belts can reduce injuries and deaths. Many studies and actual
crash tests have proven this. Texas law
requires the use of both your lap and shoulder
belt if the vehicle is equipped with both.
If you wear only a lap belt when driving,
your chances of living through a collision are twice
as good as the chances of someone who doesn't
wear a lap belt. If you wear a lap and
a shoulder belt, your chances are three
to four times better.
Safety Tip -
The recommended method for pregnant women to wear lap
and shoulder belts is as follows: Wear the lap belt
as low as possible under the abdomen and wear the shoulder
strap across the chest and to the side of the abdomen.