Florida Statutes
Fla. Stat. § 316.614 (2025)
Safety belt usage.
✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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316.614 Safety belt usage.—
(1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Safety Belt Law.”
(2) It is the policy of this state that enactment of this section is intended to be compatible with the continued support by the state for federal safety standards requiring automatic crash protection, and the enactment of this section should not be used in any manner to rescind or delay the implementation of the federal automatic crash protection system requirements of Federal Motor Safety Standard 208 as set forth in S4.1.2.1 thereof, as entered on July 17, 1984, for new cars.
(3) As used in this section:
(a) “Motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 which is operated on the roadways, streets, and highways of this state or when stationary at a traffic control device. The term does not include:
1. A school bus.
2. A bus used for the transportation of persons for compensation.
3. A farm tractor or implement of husbandry.
4. A truck having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds.
5. A motorcycle, a moped, a bicycle, or an electric bicycle.
(b) “Safety belt” means a seat belt assembly that meets the requirements established under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, 49 C.F.R. s. 571.208.
(c) “Restrained by a safety belt” means being restricted by an appropriately adjusted safety belt which is properly fastened at all times when a motor vehicle is in motion.
(4) It is unlawful for any person:
(a) To operate a motor vehicle or an autocycle in this state unless each passenger and the operator of the vehicle or autocycle under the age of 18 years are restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device pursuant to s. 316.613, if applicable; or
(b) To operate a motor vehicle or an autocycle in this state unless the person is restrained by a safety belt.
(5) It is unlawful for any person 18 years of age or older to be a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle or an autocycle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt when the vehicle or autocycle is in motion.
(6)(a) Neither a person who is certified by a physician as having a medical condition that causes the use of a safety belt to be inappropriate or dangerous nor an employee of a newspaper home delivery service while in the course of his or her employment delivering newspapers on home delivery routes is required to be restrained by a safety belt.
(b) An employee of a solid waste or recyclable collection service is not required to be restrained by a safety belt while in the course of employment collecting solid waste or recyclables on designated routes.
(c) The requirements of this section do not apply to the living quarters of a recreational vehicle or a space within a truck body primarily intended for merchandise or property.
(d) The requirements of this section do not apply to motor vehicles that are not required to be equipped with safety belts under federal law.
(e) A rural letter carrier of the United States Postal Service is not required to be restrained by a safety belt while performing duties in the course of his or her employment on a designated postal route.
(7) It is the intent of the Legislature that all state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, safety councils, and public school systems, in recognition of the fatalities and injuries attributed to unrestrained occupancy of motor vehicles, shall conduct a continuing safety and public awareness campaign as to the magnitude of the problem and adopt programs designed to encourage compliance with the safety belt usage requirements of this section.
(8) Any person who violates the provisions of this section commits a nonmoving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318.
(9) Each law enforcement agency in this state shall adopt departmental policies to prohibit the practice of racial profiling. When a law enforcement officer issues a citation for a violation of this section, the law enforcement officer must record the race and ethnicity of the violator. All law enforcement agencies must maintain such information and forward the information to the department in a form and manner determined by the department. The department shall collect this information by jurisdiction and annually report the data to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must show separate statewide totals for the state’s county sheriffs and municipal law enforcement agencies, state law enforcement agencies, and state university law enforcement agencies.
(10) A violation of the provisions of this section shall not constitute negligence per se, nor shall such violation be used as prima facie evidence of negligence or be considered in mitigation of damages, but such violation may be considered as evidence of comparative negligence, in any civil action.
History.—s. 2, ch. 86-49; s. 24, ch. 90-119; s. 7, ch. 93-260; s. 331, ch. 95-148; s. 36, ch. 96-350; s. 44, ch. 97-300; s. 2, ch. 99-316; s. 2, ch. 2000-239; s. 97, ch. 2005-164; s. 10, ch. 2008-176; s. 2, ch. 2009-32; s. 1, ch. 2015-81; s. 4, ch. 2018-130; s. 44, ch. 2019-3; s. 10, ch. 2020-69; s. 2, ch. 2021-187.
Civil Citations under F.S. 316.614
Driver's license points · R = revocation · S = suspension§316.614(4)(a)SEATBELT OPERATOR/PASSENGER under 18 years not belted/in a device - the DRIVER to be cited
§316.614(4)(b)SEATBELT - DRIVER not belted - to be cited
§316.614(5)SEATBELT - FRONT seat PASSENGER over 18 years not belted - passenger to be cited
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 42
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1987–2024 · leading case: Ridley v. Saf. Kleen Corp., 693 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 1997).
Ridley v. Saf. Kleen Corp., 693 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 1997). “[1] Section 316.614, Florida Statutes (1995), provides in part: (4) It is unlawful for any person: (a) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless each front seat passenger of the vehicle under the age of 16 years is restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device…”
Gaudio v. Ford Motor Co., 976 A.2d 524 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2009). “See Fla. Stat. § 316.614 (9). Some jurisdictions permit the evidence of a violation of the statute only to mitigate damages for pain and suffering.”
Brito v. Cnty. of Palm Beach, 753 So. 2d 109 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). “Notwithstanding, section 316.614 Florida Statutes (1993), [7] the undisputed facts in this case demonstrate that Sandy's failure to wear a seatbelt, and his subsequent ejection from the jeep leading to his fatal injuries, constituted negligence as a matter of law.”
Saf. Kleen Corp. v. Ridley, 666 So. 2d 913 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). “3 The instruction does not mention section 316.614, Florida Statutes (Supp.l986).”
Candice Jones, as Pers. Rep. of the Est. of Ryland Nye v. Michael Alayon, 162 So. 3d 360 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015). “” § 316.614(10), Fla. Stat. (2006). The supreme court addressed the effect of this statute on the common law seat belt defense in Ridley v.”
Hatcher v. State, 834 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). “614(5), Florida Statutes (2000), for any person eighteen years old or over to be a passenger in the front seat without utilizing the seat belt and because the driver or passenger may be issued a citation for violation of the seat belt requirement when an officer has detained the…”
Quarantello v. Leroy, 977 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008). “Leroy would result in an anomaly "in Florida law because injured children between the ages of six and eighteen would be allowed to recover in a negligence action against a caretaker based on evidence that the child was not *654 properly restrained by a seat belt under section…”
Morrow v. State, 848 So. 2d 1290 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). “Section 316.614(5), Florida Statutes (1999), provides that "[i]t is unlawful for any person 16 years of age or older to be a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt when the vehicle is in motion.”
Connelly v. Hyundai Motor Co., 351 F.3d 535 (1st Cir. 2003). “, Fla. Stat. Ann. § 316.614 (9), and yet other states leave the issue to the courts, e.”
In Re Stand. Jury Instructions in Civil Cases—Report No. 09-01, 35 So. 3d 666 (Fla. 2010). “9] F.S. 316.614, provides that “ti]t is unlawful for any person .”
Am. Auto. Ass'n, Inc. v. Tehrani, 508 So. 2d 365 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). “Most of the arguments put forward by appellees Tehrani and Lorestani in their motions for rehearing are impermissible reargument.”
Parker v. Montgomery, 529 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). “See § 316.614, Fla. Stat. (Supp. 1986), and American Auto.”
— 316.614(1) — 1 case
Ridley v. Saf. Kleen Corp., 693 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 1997). “[1] Section 316.614, Florida Statutes (1995), provides in part: (4) It is unlawful for any person: (a) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless each front seat passenger of the vehicle under the age of 16 years is restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device…”
— 316.614(10) — 12 cases
Ridley v. Saf. Kleen Corp., 693 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 1997). “[1] Section 316.614, Florida Statutes (1995), provides in part: (4) It is unlawful for any person: (a) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless each front seat passenger of the vehicle under the age of 16 years is restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device…”
Saf. Kleen Corp. v. Ridley, 666 So. 2d 913 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). “3 The instruction does not mention section 316.614, Florida Statutes (Supp.l986).”
Brito v. Cnty. of Palm Beach, 753 So. 2d 109 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). “Notwithstanding, section 316.614 Florida Statutes (1993), [7] the undisputed facts in this case demonstrate that Sandy's failure to wear a seatbelt, and his subsequent ejection from the jeep leading to his fatal injuries, constituted negligence as a matter of law.”
Candice Jones, as Pers. Rep. of the Est. of Ryland Nye v. Michael Alayon, 162 So. 3d 360 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015). “” § 316.614(10), Fla. Stat. (2006). The supreme court addressed the effect of this statute on the common law seat belt defense in Ridley v.”
Stand. Jury Instructions-Civil Cases, 778 So. 2d 264 (Fla. 2000).
— 316.614(3)(c) — 1 case
Lloyd v. Leeper (M.D. Fla. 2020).
— 316.614(4) — 1 case
Ridley v. Saf. Kleen Corp., 693 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 1997). “[1] Section 316.614, Florida Statutes (1995), provides in part: (4) It is unlawful for any person: (a) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless each front seat passenger of the vehicle under the age of 16 years is restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device…”
— 316.614(4)(B) — 1 case
Hayes v. Sec'y, Florida Dep't of Corr. (M.D. Fla. 2020).
— 316.614(4)(a) — 1 case
Cybroski v. Wright, 927 So. 2d 1089 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006).
— 316.614(4)(b) — 2 cases
Candice Jones, as Pers. Rep. of the Est. of Ryland Nye v. Michael Alayon, 162 So. 3d 360 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015). “” § 316.614(10), Fla. Stat. (2006). The supreme court addressed the effect of this statute on the common law seat belt defense in Ridley v.”
Saf. Kleen Corp. v. Ridley, 666 So. 2d 913 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). “3 The instruction does not mention section 316.614, Florida Statutes (Supp.l986).”
— 316.614(5) — 4 cases
Hatcher v. State, 834 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). “614(5), Florida Statutes (2000), for any person eighteen years old or over to be a passenger in the front seat without utilizing the seat belt and because the driver or passenger may be issued a citation for violation of the seat belt requirement when an officer has detained the…”
Morrow v. State, 848 So. 2d 1290 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). “Section 316.614(5), Florida Statutes (1999), provides that "[i]t is unlawful for any person 16 years of age or older to be a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt when the vehicle is in motion.”
Union v. State, 642 So. 2d 91 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994).
Bonds v. Fleming, 539 So. 2d 583 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989).
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