SB73 Alabama 2017 Session

Updated Feb 27, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Quinton Ross
Democrat
Session: Regular Session 2017
Title: Motor vehicles, seat belt use required for each occupant while vehicle is in motion, Secs. 32-5B-4 am'd.
Summary: SB73 would require every occupant of a passenger vehicle to wear a seat belt while the vehicle is in motion, with several exemptions, and it includes related constitutional and timing provisions.
What This Bill Does
It expands the seat belt rule from just front-seat occupants to all occupants of passenger cars with safety belts. It adds exemptions for certain groups (existing child restraint rules, medical exemptions, rural letter carriers, newspaper/mail deliverers, vehicles from model year before 1965, and vehicles that normally operate in reverse). It addresses how the bill interacts with a local-funding constitutional provision, stating it is exempt because it would create or modify a crime, and it specifies the act’s name and when it would take effect (the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval).

Who It Affects
All occupants of passenger cars in Alabama: would be required to have a seat belt fastened when the vehicle is in motion.
Exemption groups: children covered by existing child restraint rules, individuals with a doctor’s written medical exemption, rural U.S. Postal Service letter carriers, people delivering newspapers or mail, passengers in model-year pre-1965 vehicles, and passengers in vehicles that normally operate in reverse.

Key Provisions
Amends Section 32-5B-4 to require every occupant of a passenger car with safety belts to have a belt fastened at all times when the vehicle is in motion.
Explicit exemptions: (1) child passengers under Section 32-5-222, (2) medical exemption with a physician’s written statement, (3) rural letter carriers, (4) newspaper/mail deliverers, (5) pre-1965 model-year vehicles, (6) vehicles that normally operate in reverse.
The act states it is excluded from Amendment 621 local-funds requirements because it defines a new crime or amends an existing crime.
Known as the Roderic Deshaun Scott Seat Belt Safety Act.
Effective date: becomes law on the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Motor Vehicles