Buckle Up Florida, It’s the Law!

The safety belt is your vehicle’s best safety feature. But…it only works if you use it.

The Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law (effective June 30, 2009) requires drivers and passengers to fasten their safety belts. (Ch. 316.614, Florida Statutes)

Buckle up every time you get in your vehicle. Do it to protect yourself and others. Do it to avoid a serious dent in your wallet — a ticket could be costly. Already wear your safety belt? Keep it up! While a majority of Floridians wear safety belts, those who don’t cost the state thousands of dollars in medical costs. Of course, you can’t put a price tag on the valuable lives lost. Florida has had a safety belt law since 1986, but officers could only ticket unbuckled drivers when they stopped them for other violations. The new primary law allows officers to stop motorists for not wearing safety belts.

Florida law requires the use of safety belts for all drivers and passengers in all motorized vehicles, except:

• Persons who have a doctor-certified medical condition for which the use of a safety belt may be inappropriate or dangerous
• Employees of a newspaper home delivery service or a solid waste /recyclable collection service working designated routes
• Persons traveling in the living quarters of a recreational vehicle or a space within a truck body primarily intended for merchandise or property
• Persons traveling in vehicles that are not required to be equipped with safety belts under federal law