Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP

<p style="text-align: center;">NEW YORK’S NEW SEAT-BELT LAW REQUIRING ALL OCCUPANTS INSIDE A MOTOR-VEHICLE TO BUCKLE UP TAKES EFFECT ON NOVEMBER 1, 2020</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="https://nypost.com/2020/08/11/new-york-will-now-require-seat-belts-for-all-car-occupants/">https://nypost.com/2020/08/11/new-york-will-now-require-seat-belts-for-all-car-occupants/</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">On November 1, 2020, New York will become the 30th state to require all occupants inside a vehicle over the age of sixteen to wear seatbelts. The new law will now make it mandatory for back-seat passengers to wear a seat belt along with the front occupants. Presently, the law only required front seat occupants. Buses and emergency vehicles are exempt from the new law, but not taxis.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This law comes after studies conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that you are less likely to suffer serious injuries or death if you wear a seat belt. In 1984, New York was the very first state to enact a seat-belt requirement in the United States and legislation has always promoted New York citizens to wear seatbelts.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Time will tell how the new law will impact the way in which plaintiff’s damages are assessed and allocated. Currently, in New York, a defendant in an auto negligence case may raise a “seat-belt defense.” This defense affords a defendant the opportunity to prove through expert testimony that the plaintiff’s injuries wouldn’t have been as severe, as claimed, if plaintiff was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, regardless of where the plaintiff was positioned inside the vehicle. The party claiming injury has a duty to mitigate damages, meaning they must show that they acted reasonably to limit the amount of harm. This duty essentially limits the amount of damages a defendant potentially must pay to the injured party.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Typically, the duty to mitigate only applied to actions the injured party takes after an accident. Now that the new law requires all occupants to wear seatbelts, the duty to mitigate damages applies to the actions of everyone over the age of 16 inside a vehicle prior to the occurrence of an accident.</p>
Thanks to Irving Fayman for his contribution to this post. If you have any questions or comments, please contact <a href="mailto:tbracken@wcmlaw.com">Thomas Bracken</a>.