(A) No person shall sell any 1965 or later model motor vehicle of the first division unless the front seat of such motor vehicle is equipped with at least two sets of seat safety belts. Motorcycles are exempt from the provisions of this section.
(B) No person shall operate a 1961 or later model motor vehicle of the first division that is titled or licensed by the Secretary of State for the State of Illinois unless the front seat of such motor vehicle is equipped with at least two sets of seat safety belts.
(C) For purposes of this section, "SEAT SAFETY BELTS" shall mean a set of belts or a harness meeting the specifications established by the Illinois Department of Transportation ("IDOT") and installed in such a manner as to prevent or materially reduce the movement of the person using the same in the event of a collision or upset of the motor vehicle.
(D) IDOT shall establish and maintain performance specifications for seat safety belts and for the attachment and installation thereof.
(E) Each driver and front seat passenger of a motor vehicle operated on a roadway, street, or highway within this village shall wear a properly fastened and adjusted seat safety belt; except that children under six years of age shall be protected as required pursuant to the Child Passenger Protection Act, ILCS Ch. 625, Act 25 § 1 et seq. Each driver of a motor vehicle transporting a child six years of age or older, but less than sixteen years of age, in the front seat of the motor vehicle shall secure the child in a properly fastened and secured seat safety belt.
(F) When any person is transporting a resident child of this state under four years of age in a non-commercial motor vehicle of the first division, a motor vehicle of the second division with a gross vehicle weight rating of 9,000 pounds or less, or a recreational vehicle on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, such person shall be responsible for providing protection of such child by properly securing him or her in a child restraint system, except in cases of serious medical emergency. The parent or legal guardian of a child under four years of age shall provide a child restraint system to any person who transports his or her child. Any person who transports the child of another shall not be found in violation of this section unless a child restraint system was provided to said person by the parent or legal guardian of the child, but was not used to transport the child.
(G) Every person, when transporting a child four years of age or older, but under six years of age, shall be responsible for securing that child in either a child restraint system or a properly fastened and secured seat safety belt, except in cases of serious medical emergency.
(H) In no event shall a person's failure to secure a child under six years of age in an approved child restraint system, or a properly fastened and secured seat safety belt if such child is four or five years of age, constitute contributory negligence or be admissible as evidence of such in the trial of any civil action.
(I) Subsection (E) of this section 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 reason, 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 motor cycle, motor driven cycle, or motorized pedacycle.
(7) A motor vehicle which is not required to be equipped with seat safety belts under federal law.
(8) A motor vehicle operated by a rural letter carrier duly employed by the United States Postal Service while engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a rural letter carrier.
(J) 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 any insurer, and shall not diminish any recovery for damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, and/or operation of a motor vehicle.
(K) Any Tinley Park Police Officer may stop any motor vehicle, or driver and/or passenger of any such motor vehicle, solely on the basis of a violation or suspected violation of this section at any time while such motor vehicle is being operated on any roadway, street, and/or highway within the village.
(L) A violation of this section shall be a petty offense and subject to a fine not to exceed $25.
(Ord. 98-0-068, passed 10-20-98) Penalty, see § 75.99