Seat belts and child car seats

It is the chapter of Act 22-2000 that says which vehicles must have belts, who is obliged to use them, who is exempt, and which seat a child must travel in according to their age, height and weight. It is the source of the two traffic fines families see most: a hundred dollars for the belt and five hundred for the child seat.

The belt obligation applies to everyone driving or riding as a passenger on public roads in a motor vehicle that must be equipped with belts under Article 13.01, whose belts are available and in usable condition. The child seat obligation applies to anyone driving a motor vehicle on public roads in which a child under eight travels, and Article 13.03 does not apply to drivers of public service vehicles.

• For the child seat: that the seat is not expired, that it is appropriate for the child’s age and that it meets the position and type Article 13.03 sets by age, height and weight.Verified against the official source
• For the medical exemption from the belt: holding a medical certification attesting that the person is prevented from using it for medical or physical reasons (Article 13.02(b)(1)).Verified against the official source
• To take a newborn home: a certification on the proper installation of protective seats, without which no hospital institution in Puerto Rico may hand the child over.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: The driver answers for the passengers

   Article 13.02(a) has three rules and the second is the surprising one. First: everyone driving or riding as a passenger in a vehicle that must be equipped with belts, and whose belts are available and in condition, is obliged to fasten them correctly while the vehicle is driven on public roads. Second: “It shall be every driver’s duty to require the vehicle’s occupants to use the available seat belt, and the driver shall be responsible for the failure to do so”. Third: it shall be every driver’s duty not to carry in the vehicle more passengers than the number of functional seat belts it has.

2. 2

   Step 2: A hundred dollars per unbelted passenger

   Article 13.02 closes by saying every driver who is obliged to wear a belt while driving and does not, or who allows a passenger in their vehicle not to use one, commits an administrative offence punished with a one hundred dollar fine “for each passenger not using the belt”. The fine multiplies per person, not per stop.

3. 3

   Step 3: The two exemptions, and what to carry

   Article 13.02(b) excepts only two cases. One: drivers or passengers prevented from using belts for medical or physical reasons “who hold a medical certification attesting to it” — the certification is part of the requirement, not an extra. Two: drivers and passengers of public service vehicles while serving short routes authorised by the Public Service Commission. The Act gives the Commission five criteria for defining a short route: the extent of the route or authorised area, the origin and destination of passenger movement, the nature or particular conditions of the route, the authorised fares, and whether operating it requires constantly stopping to pick up or drop off passengers along its whole length.

4. 4

   Step 4: Which seat each age gets

   Article 13.03 makes it compulsory, for anyone driving a motor vehicle on public roads in which a child under eight travels, to make sure the child is seated in a protective seat “that is not expired, that is appropriate for the child’s age” and that meets these specifications: children under two must be carried in a rear-facing seat or in a seat manufactured and distributed as infant-only; those over two up to four, in a forward-facing seat; and those from four to eight, under four feet nine inches tall and weighing up to sixty-five pounds, in a raised protective seat, convertible seat or booster seat.

5. 5

   Step 5: Nobody under twelve rides in front if there is a back seat

   Article 13.03 says it plainly: “Unless the motor vehicle is equipped only with front seats, every child under twelve (12) years of age must travel in the vehicle’s rear seat”. And for a vehicle with only front seats, the rule is twofold: the driver must deactivate the airbags in order to carry a minor and must still comply with the protective seat requirement; otherwise, they may not carry the minor in that vehicle.

6. 6

   Step 6: The orientation is free and there are certified technicians

   The Act does not stop at the fine. Article 13.03 directs the Fire Bureau, the Police of Puerto Rico, the Municipal Emergency Management Office and the Traffic Safety Commission to have certified technicians available to the public around the whole island who can give orientation on the correct use and installation of protective seats. That orientation shall be available at Fire Bureau stations, at Police stations, at Municipal Emergency Management Offices and anywhere else the Commission designates, “in this way, every father, mother, guardian or custodian who so wishes may receive an inspection and orientation” on the use of protective and booster seats.

7. 7

   Step 7: The hospital does not release a newborn without certification

   It is a line of Article 13.03 that surprises many first-time families: “no hospital institution in Puerto Rico may hand a newborn to the parents if they do not hold a certification on the proper installation of protective seats”. The Traffic Safety Commission and the Fire Bureau shall establish by regulation the form and manner of complying with the article; we did not read that regulation, so we do not describe how that certification is obtained in practice.

8. 8

   Step 8: Five hundred dollars, and a disability exception

   Article 13.03 closes with two sentences. The fine: anyone violating its provisions commits an administrative offence punished with a five hundred dollar fine. And the article does not apply to drivers of public service vehicles. Before that, it expressly excepts “those children suffering from some kind of disability, duly certified by a doctor, that prevents them travelling safely in such seats”.

9. 9

   Step 9: Which cars must have belts

   Article 13.01 sets it by model year. Every 1965-and-later car, at least two lap belts for the front seat. Every 1968-and-later car, a lap belt for each passenger it was designed for, plus at least two lap-and-shoulder belts for the front seat; this does not apply to Police vehicles. Every 1971-and-later commercial vehicle, heavy motor vehicle, bus and tractor or prime mover, lap-and-shoulder belts for the front seat. And anything manufactured and assembled locally after 1 January 1971, from new parts or parts of other vehicles, must meet the same. The article adds three duties: the owner must keep the belts and their installation in good condition; selling or distributing belts that do not meet the Secretary’s minimum standards is a misdemeanour with a two hundred and fifty dollar fine; and no public vehicle concessionaire authorised by the Public Service Commission may remove them, on pain of a five hundred dollar administrative fine.

There is no procedure: these are rules complied with in the vehicle. The stop for the administrative offence is made by the law-enforcement officer or the Municipal Police. Free orientation on protective seats is sought at Fire Bureau stations, at Police stations, at Municipal Emergency Management Offices and wherever the Traffic Safety Commission designates. The medical certification for the belt exemption is issued by your doctor, and the installation certification the hospital asks for is governed by a regulation of the Commission and the Fire Bureau.

• Believing the belt fine is a single one: it is a hundred dollars for each passenger not wearing one.
• Thinking the passenger answers alone: it is the driver’s duty to require it, and they answer for the failure.
• Carrying more people than belts: the Act expressly forbids the driver from doing so.
• Claiming a medical exemption with no paper: the exemption requires holding a medical certification attesting to it.
• Believing the child seat runs to age four: it is compulsory to age eight.
• Using an expired seat: the Act expressly requires it not be expired.
• Facing a child under two forward: under two they face rearward or ride in an infant-only seat.
• Skipping the booster: from four to eight, under four feet nine inches and up to sixty-five pounds, a raised, convertible or booster seat is required.
• Seating a ten-year-old in front: unless the vehicle has only front seats, everyone under twelve rides in the back.
• Forgetting the airbags: in a vehicle with only front seats they must be deactivated in order to carry the minor.
• Paying for the orientation: the Act orders certified technicians be available at fire stations, police stations and municipal emergency management offices.
• Arriving at the hospital without the installation certification: without it, no hospital institution may release the newborn.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas (DTOP)

  DTOP

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov