Starting now: New seat belt, pedestrian safety laws in effect - Hartford Courant
Drivers might want to be sure all passengers are buckled up and watch for pedestrians with their hands up because of two new state laws that went into effect Friday.
The laws are part of a new set of traffic safety laws passed by the legislature this year. One was written to protect backseat passengers from serious injury or death in a crash, the other to make it safer to cross the street.
Under the seat belt law, backseat passengers over 16 now must be buckled up. Before, only front seat passengers and children under 16 were required by law to be restrained.
Connecticut was one of the first states to enact a seat belt law for those in the front seat in 1985, but it took more than 25 years to require that all backseat passengers be restrained, according to AAA.
“The latest crash data indicates an increase in fatalities last year involving unbuckled passengers and also an increase in ejections, so extra protections are desperately needed,” said Tracy Noble, spokesperson for AAA in Greater Hartford. “We know that rear seat passengers are more likely to buckle up when the law requires them to do so, so this is literally a lifesaving measure.”
“In the event of a crash, unbuckled rear seat passengers may become projectiles, putting the driver and other belted passengers at greater risk,” Noble said.
Between 2017 and 2020, there were more than 12,000 injuries of rear seat occupants in Connecticut and more than 60 fatalities, Noble said.
The new law is subject to secondary enforcement, meaning police don’t pull over drivers solely because of an unbelted adult in the back seat, AAA said. However, they can issue a fine for the unbelted passenger if the driver is pulled over for a primary offense, such as speeding.
One of the new laws designed to make it safer for pedestrians requires drivers to yield at crosswalks to people who signal their intent to cross by raising their hands toward oncoming traffic. The pedestrians also may simply move another part of their bodies — or wheelchair, walking stick or other extension — into the crosswalk’s entrance.
Before, pedestrians had to enter the crosswalk or step off the curb in order to be legally granted the right of way. By then, they’re already in the road and at higher risk of getting hit by a car. This was particularly problematic for people with disabilities or walking with young children.
Drivers who fail to yield to a pedestrian under these circumstances will be subject to a $500 fine, as under current law.
source: https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-hartford-connecticut-new-laws-backseat-seat-belts-pedestrians-raise-hands-20211001-ixnkvywsanbw7b2gkvjaycz3ya-story.html
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