Seat Belt Safety Laws

Code Ann. § 55-9-603 describes Tennessee as a primary safety belt state. Drivers are required to wear safety belts at all times when operating a motor vehicle in Tennessee. All drivers and front seat passengers are covered by the seat belt law and must have a seat belt properly fastened about their bodies at all times when the vehicle is in a forward motion.

Children less than age 18 are covered under the Tennessee Child Passenger Safety and Graduated Driver Licensing laws. All occupants in ALL seating positions should buckle up. Unbuckled rear-seat occupants can injure buckled front-seat occupants, as well as themselves, when they are thrown around or out of a vehicle during a crash.

For more information about this law, click here to access a free online version of the Tennessee Code. 

 

LAW ENFORCEMENT CAMPAIGNS

 

Click It or Ticket

Border to Border

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

 

Can I be ticketed for unbelted passengers?

Why is Click It or Ticket necessary? Don't law enforcement officers enforce this law all the time?

Why devote state resources to Click It or Ticket?

Isn't it my personal right to choose to buckle up or not?

Are both lap and shoulder belts required?

My car doesn’t have seat belts. Do I have to install them?

Our pickup truck only has three seat belts, but there are four in our family. What do we do?

Are employees required to wear seat belts in company cars?

I’m too large for my seat belt to fit around me. What should I do?

Now that I’m pregnant, should I still wear a seat belt?

Can’t seat belts actually cause injuries?

What are the penalties for non-compliance?