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Traffic Laws |
SECTION 2. Subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), and (h), Section 2-13 545.413,
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows: 2-14 (a) A person commits an offense
if the person: 2-15 (1) is at least 15 years of age; 2-16 (2) is riding in the front seat
of a passenger vehicle 2-17 [car] while the vehicle is being
operated; 2-18 (3) is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety 2-19 belt; and 2-20
(4) is not secured by a safety belt. 2-21 (b) A person commits an offense if the person:
2-22 (1) operates a passenger vehicle [car or light truck] 2-23
that is equipped with safety belts; and 2-24 (2) allows a child who is at least four years
of age 2-25 but younger than 17 [15] years of age to ride in the
vehicle 2-26 without requiring the child to be secured by a safety belt, 3-1 provided the
child is occupying a seat that is equipped with a 3-2 safety belt. 3-3 (c) A passenger vehicle
[car] or a seat in a passenger 3-4 vehicle [car]
is considered to be equipped with a safety belt if 3-5 the vehicle is required under
Section 547.601 to be equipped with 3-6 safety belts. 3-7 (e) It is a defense to
prosecution under this section that: 3-8 (1) the person possesses a written statement from
a 3-9 licensed physician stating that for a medical reason the person 3-10 should not wear
a safety belt; 3-11 (2) the person presents to the court, not later than 3-12 the 10th day
after the date of the offense, a statement from a 3-13 licensed physician stating that for
a medical reason the person 3-14 should not wear a safety belt; 3-15 (3) the person is
employed by the United States Postal 3-16 Service and performing a duty for that agency
that requires the 3-17 operator to service postal boxes from a vehicle or that requires
3-18 frequent entry into and exit from a vehicle; 3-19 (4) the person is engaged in the
actual delivery of 3-20 newspapers from a vehicle or is performing newspaper delivery 3-21
duties that require frequent entry into and exit from a vehicle; 3-22 [or]
3-23 (5) the person is employed by a public or private 3-24 utility company and is engaged
in the reading of meters or 3-25 performing a similar duty for that company requiring the
operator 3-26 to frequently enter into and exit from a vehicle; or 4-1 (6) The
person is operating a commercial vehicle 4-2 registered as a farm vehicle under the
provisions of Section 4-3 502.163 that does not have a gross weight, registered
weight, or 4-4 gross weight rating of 48,000 pounds or more. 4-5 (h) In this
section, "passenger vehicle," "safety belt," and 4-6 "secured"
have the meanings assigned by Section 545.412[:] 4-7 [(1)
"Passenger car" includes a truck with a 4-8 manufacturer's
rated carrying capacity of not more than 1,500 4-9 pounds.] 4-10
[(2) "Safety belt" means a lap belt and any shoulder 4-11 straps
included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle].
SECTION 2. Section 545.413, Transportation Code, is amended
2-11 by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (i) and (j)
to
2-12 read as follows:
2-13 (d) An offense
under Subsection (a) [this section] is a
2-14 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more
than
2-15 $50. An offense under Subsection (b) is a
misdemeanor punishable
2-16 by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $200.
2-17 (i) A judge,
acting under Article 45.0511, Code of Criminal
2-18 Procedure, who elects to defer further proceedings and to
place a
2-19 defendant accused of a violation of Subsection (b) on
probation
2-20 under that article, in lieu of requiring the defendant to
complete
2-21 a driving safety course approved by the Texas Education
Agency,
2-22 shall require the defendant to attend and present proof
that the
2-23 defendant has successfully completed a specialized driving
safety
2-24 course approved by the Texas Education Agency under the
Texas
2-25 Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act (Article
4413(29c),
2-26 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) that includes four hours of
2-27 instruction that encourages the use of child passenger
safety seat
3-1 systems and the wearing of seat belts and emphasizes:
3-2
(1)
the effectiveness of child passenger safety seat
3-3 systems and seat belts in reducing the harm to children
being
3-4 transported in motor vehicles; and
3-5
(2)
the requirements of this section and the penalty
3-6 for noncompliance.
3-7 (j)
Notwithstanding Section 542.402(a), a municipality or
3-8 county, at the end of the municipality's or county's fiscal
year,
3-9 shall send to the comptroller an amount equal to 50 percent
of the
3-10 fines collected by the municipality or the county for
violations of
3-11 this section. The comptroller shall deposit the
amount received to
3-12 the credit of the tertiary care fund for use by trauma
centers.
3-13 SECTION 3. (a) This
Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
3-14 (b) The change in
law made by this Act applies only to an
3-15 offense committed on or after September 1, 2001.
3-16 (c) An offense
committed before September 1, 2001, is
3-17 covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
and
3-18 the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
For
3-19 purposes of this section, an offense was committed before
September
3-20 1, 2001, if any element of the offense was committed before
that
3-21 date.