625 ILCS 5/12-603.1 – Seat Belt Requirements
This law says that everyone in a car must wear a seat belt when driving on Illinois roads.
Illinois law requires drivers and passengers to wear seat belts while a vehicle is moving. There are a few special situations where people don’t have to wear one, and breaking this rule results in a fine.
(a) Every driver and passenger in a motor vehicle on an Illinois street or highway must wear a seat belt that fits and is properly fastened. Children under 8 must be in a safety seat. For children ages 8 to under 16, the driver must make sure they wear seat belts. If someone in the car cannot buckle themselves because of age, illness, or disability, the driver is responsible for securing their seat belt, unless that person is exempt under subsection (b).
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to these situations:
- Drivers or passengers who stop often to deliver items and drive under 15 miles per hour between stops.
- People with a doctor’s note saying they cannot wear a seat belt for medical or physical reasons.
- People with an official card or license from another state or country showing they are medically or physically unable to wear a seat belt.
- Drivers backing up a vehicle.
- Vehicles made before 1965.
- Motorcycles or motor-driven cycles.
- Mopeds.
- Vehicles not required by federal law to have seat belts.
- U.S. Postal Service rural mail carriers doing their job.
- Emergency vehicle drivers or passengers, except those in fire trucks, fire marshal vehicles, or ambulances, unless they are providing life-saving care that prevents using a seat belt.
- Back seat passengers in taxicabs.
(c) Not wearing a seat belt cannot be used as proof of carelessness in a crash, cannot affect insurance payments, and cannot reduce damage awards in court.
(d) Sentence: A person who breaks this law commits a petty offense and can be fined up to $25.
(e) (Blank.)
(f) Police officers cannot search a driver, a passenger, or the vehicle just because of a seat belt violation.
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