39-21-41.4. Use of safety belts required in certain motor vehicles - Enforcement - Evidence

39-21-41.4. Use of safety belts required in certain motor vehicles - Enforcement - Evidence. A driver may not operate upon a highway a motor vehicle designed for carrying fewer than eleven passengers, which was originally manufactured with safety belts unless each occupant is wearing a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt. This section does not apply to a child in a child restraint or safety belt in accordance with section 39-21-41.2; to drivers of implements of husbandry; to operators of farm vehicles as defined in subsection 5 of section 39-04-19; to rural mail carriers while on duty delivering mail; to an occupant with a medical or physically disabling condition that prevents appropriate restraint in a safety belt, if a qualified physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse states in a signed writing the nature of the condition and the reason restraint is inappropriate; to an occupant who is an emergency medical services personnel, during the provision of direct patient care; or when all safety belts are in use by other occupants. A physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse who, in good faith, provides a statement that restraint would be inappropriate is not subject to civil liability. A violation for not wearing a safety belt under this section is not, in itself, evidence of negligence. The fact of a violation of this section is not admissible in any proceeding other than one charging the violation.