Seat belts in Canada

[JoeWay]

Originally Posted by glenn in camino

That's the question I missed on my last drivers test in California. In Ca. all cars must have seat belts regardless of age.

Glenn,

Sounds as if you got caught by an ignorant clerk or a poorly worded question.

California does not require and never has required seat belts in cars that were not originally equipped with them. This matter is addressed in Division 12 of the vehicle code. Here's a link to the section of the code. September 1962 was the date of the federal seat belt requirement law, after which new cars could not be sold in the US without seat belts.

If it's legal for a used car dealer to sell a pre-September 1962 without seat belts, it is by extension legal to operate it without belts. The only case I'm aware of where California has required retroactive fitting of safety equipment is in the area of lighting. ALL vehicles must have headlights, a tail light, and a stop light, whether they were originally fitted or not.

Note, however, that if a vehicle IS equipped with seat belts, they must be used regardless of vehicle age or original requirements.

Joe

P. S. Skip posted while I was writing this. Section 27315(f) supports what I wrote. However, it does appear that Section 27360 requires restraints for children under 8 regardless of the age of the vehicle. I stand corrected to that extent.

JW