46 | Driver’s Manual SEAT BELTS, CHILD SAFETY SEATS AND AIR BAGS Seat belts save lives and can prevent serious  injuries in traffic crashes. This is why New York  State requires seat belt use by adults in motor ve- hicles and seat belts, booster seats or child safety  seats for children. New York is a “primary enforcement” state,  which means a police officer can pull you over  just because you or one of your passengers isn’t  wearing their seatbelt. A law enforcement officer  can issue a traffic ticket for failure to wear a seat  belt. This law also applies to visitors from outside  New York State. Highlights of the New York State  occupant restraint law: 7 must use a booster seat with lap and shoul- der belt or a child safety seat (The child safety  restraint system must meet the height and weight  recommendations of the restraint manufacturer.) Exception:  A child more than 4 feet 9 inches  in height or weighing more than 100 pounds is  allowed to use a seat belt that has both a lap belt  and a shoulder harness. If the seat belt does not  fit correctly, the child must use a booster seat with  a lap and shoulder belt. When you drive, you must make sure each  person in your vehicle is properly restrained by  a seat belt, child restraint system, or car seat.  During a crash, a person not properly restrained  becomes a flying object and a danger to each  person in the vehicle. Every passenger under age 16 must use a  safety restraint. If under age 4, persons must be  correctly secured in a government approved child  safety seat that is attached to a vehicle by a safe- ty belt or universal anchorage (LATCH) system.  A child under age 4 who weighs more than 40  pounds can be restrained in a booster seat with  a lap and shoulder belt. A child of age 4, 5, 6 or  • In the front seat, the driver and each passen- ger must be properly restrained, one person  per belt. The driver and front-seat passen- gers age 16 or older can each face a fine of  up to $50 if they fail to buckle up. • For vehicles driven by persons with a  Class-DJ learner permit or a Class-DJ driver  license, every occupant, no matter the age  or seating position, must correctly use a  safety restraint. • The driver must make sure that each pas- senger under 16 obeys the law. The driver  can face a fine of $25 to $100 and receive  three penalty points on his driver license for each violation. • Seat belt use is not required in taxis or  livery vehicles, emergency vehicles, 1964  or older vehicles or by passengers in buses  (except school buses; seat belt use can be  required by a school district). Rural Letter  Carriers are also exempt when they are  delivering mail. • For added protection, adjust your vehicle  head rest, lock the doors and do not keep  loose, heavy objects in the passenger area.  Put them in the trunk. • Air bags are meant to work WITH seat belts,  not to replace them. An air bag protects a  front-seat occupant in a head-on crash by  inflating on impact and providing a cushion  so the occupant does not collide with the  steering wheel, dashboard or windshield.  The combination of a seat belt and an air  bag offers maximum protection, partly be- cause they help the driver maintain control  of the vehicle and help prevent secondary collisions. • Air bags engage (expand quickly) from the  steering wheel and/or dashboard. Most adults  who are correctly fastened are safer in a  vehicle with air bags, but the pressure of an  air bag as it opens could injure those who sit  too close to it. You should sit with at least 10  inches between the center of your chest and  the cover of the air bag. Place your hands on  opposite sides of the steering wheel, at the 3  and 9 clock positions, to keep them away if  the air bag engages. IMPORTANT: NEVER PUT AN INFANT IN A  REAR-FACING CHILD SAFETY SEAT  IN THE FRONT SEAT OF A VEHICLE THAT HAS  A PASSENGER AIR BAG.