ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 182
(By Senators Rowe, McCabe, Hunter and White)
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[Passed February 25, 2003; to take effect July 1, 2003.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section forty-six, article fifteen,
chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to child
passenger safety seats, booster seats and safety devices;
requiring every driver transporting children
less than nine
years of age
in certain motor vehicles to maintain and secure
the child in a child passenger safety seat or booster seat or
other safety device meeting federal motor vehicle safety
standards; and providing that a seat belt meets this
requirement for children at least four years of age or over
forty pounds in weight.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section forty-six, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. EQUIPMENT.
§17C-15-46. Child passenger safety devices required; child safety
seats and booster seats.
Every driver who transports a child under the age of nine
years in a passenger automobile, van or pickup truck other than one
operated for hire shall, while such motor vehicle is in motion and
operated on a street or highway of this state, provide for the
protection of such child by properly placing, maintaining and
securing such child in a child passenger safety device system
meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards:
Provided, That if a child is at least four years of age or at least
forty pounds in weight, a safety belt shall be sufficient to meet
the requirements of this section.
Any person who violates any provision of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than ten dollars nor more than twenty dollars.
A violation of this section shall not be deemed by virtue of
such violation to constitute evidence of negligence or contributory
negligence or comparative negligence in any civil action or
proceeding for damages.
If any provision of this section or the application thereof to
any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications of this section and to
this end the subsections of this section are declared to be
severable.
If all seat belts in a vehicle are being used at the time of
examination by a law officer and the vehicle contains more
passengers than the total number of seat belts or other safety devices as installed in compliance with federal motor vehicle
safety standards, the driver shall not be considered as violating
this section.
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