CHAPTER 171

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 46.1-309.1, 46.1-810 and 46.1-814, as
amended, of the Code of Virginia, relating to seat belts, lap belts,
and shoulder harnesses used in motor vehicles. rH 373]

Approved March 12, 1968
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 46.1-309.1, 46.1-310 and 46.1-314, as amended, be amended
and reenacted as follows:

§ 46.1-309.1. (a) No motor vehicle registered in this State de-
signed and licensed primarily for private passenger vehicular trans-
portation on the public highways, and manufactured for the year nineteen
hundred sixty-eight or for subsequent years, shall be operated on the high-
wavs of this State unless the front seats thereof be cauipned with adult
safety lap belts or a combination of lap belts and shoulder straps or
harnesses of a type or types approved by the Superintendent.

(b) Failure to use such safety lap belts or a combination of lap
belts and shoulder straps or harnesses after installation shall not be
deemed to be negligence.

(c) Passenger motor vehicles registered in this State and manufac-
tured after January 1, 1968, shall be equipped with lap belts or a combi-
nation of lap belts and shoulder straps or harnesses as required to be
installed at the time of manufacture by the Federal Department of
Transportation.

§ 46.1-310. (a) Any safety lap belt or shoulder straps or harness
or any combination of lap belt and shoulder strap or harness installed
in a vehicle shall be designed and installed in such manner as to prevent
or materially reduce movement of any person using the same in the event
of collision or upset of the vehicle.

) The Superintendent shall establish specifications or requirements
for approved type safety lap belts and shoulder straps or harnesses or
any combination of lap belt and shoulder stran or harness, attachments
and installation, in accordance with the provisions of this section, and
such specifications or requirements may be the same as those specifications
or requirements for safety lap belts or shoulder straps or harnesses or
any combination. of lap belt and shoulder strap or harness established by
the Civil Aeronautics Administration Technical Standard Orders or regu-
lations established by the Society of Automotive Engineers for Safety
Lap Belts and Shoulder Straps or Harnesses or Combination Lap Belts and
Shoulder Straps or * Harnesses.

(c) No person shall sell, offer or keep for sale any safety lap belt,
shoulder straps or harness, or any combination of lap belt and shoulder
strap or harness or attachments thereto for use in a vehicle, unless of a
type which hes been apnroved by the Sunerintendent.

§ 46.1-314. (a) Any person who shall apply to the Superintendent
for a certificate of approval required by this chapter shall pay the fees
herein prescribed.

(1) The fee for approval and recordation of head lamps, warning
devices, safety glass, signal devices and other devices required by this
title to be approved by the Superintendent and not provided for elsewhere
in this section shall be a sum not more then one hundred and fifty dollars.

(2) The fee for approval and recordation of rear lamps, spot lamps
or any other lighting devices shall be a sum not more than seventy-five

ollars.

(3) The fee for approval and recordation of brake-testing and light-
testing machines shall be a sum not more than one hundred dollars for
each type approved.

(4) The fee for approval and recordation of safety lap belts and
shoulder straps or harnesses or any combination lap belt and shoulder
strap or harness shall be a sum not more than fifty dollars.

(b) Fees collected under this section shall be used by the Superin-
tendent in examining and testing devices to be approved and for main-
taining and publishing necessary records; and shall be in addition to the
regular appropriation made by law.