(A) (1) Any driver and front seat passenger of a motor vehicle operated on a street or highway in the city shall wear a safety belt, except that the number of front seat passengers required to wear a safety belt shall not exceed the number of safety belts which were installed in the front seat of such motor vehicle by the manufacturer. Any driver transporting a child who is four years of age or more but is less than 16 years of age shall be responsible for securing such child in a safety belt if the child is riding in the front seat of the motor vehicle.
(2) All safety belts so worn shall be properly adjusted and fastened and shall be of a type which meets the requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 571.208 as such regulations currently exists or as the regulation existed when the safety belts were originally installed by the manufacturer; or if the safety belts have been replaced, be of a type which meets the requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 571.208 that applied to the originally installed safety belts or of a more recently issued version of such regulations.
(3) Requirements for a child under the age of four are provided in Neb. RS 60-6,267 through 60-6,269.
(B) Enforcement of this section by state or local law enforcement agencies shall be accomplished only as a secondary action when a driver of a motor vehicle has been detained for a suspected violation or some other offense.
(C) This section shall not apply to:
(1) A driver or passenger who possesses written verification from a physician that the driver or passenger is unable to wear a safety belt for medical reasons; and
(2) A rural letter carrier of the United States Postal Service while performing his or her duties as a rural letter carrier between the first and last delivery points.
(D) Evidence that a person was not wearing a seat belt at the time he or she was injured shall not be admissible in regard to the issue of liability or proximate cause but may be admissible as evidence concerning mitigation of damages, except that it shall not reduce recovery for damages by more than 5%.
(Prior Code, § 5-316) (Ord. 446, passed 9-24-1985) Penalty, see § 70.99
Statutory reference:
Similar provisions see Neb. RS 60-6,212 and 60-6,266