Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, there are people who didn't know you need to be buckled in the back seat????

Wow, I'm totally surprised. I took driver's ed in public school in 1985 and I knew that seatbelts are necessary (even if not required by law at the time).

It's not common knowledge that the rules of physics apply to the back seat?

Oh, so your kids wear seat belts on bus rides/field trips? Or do the laws of physics not apply then?

Of course we all know one "should" wear a seat belt - but whether or not it is legally required is a totally different question. And iin 1985 it is doubtful even front seat drivers were required to do so.

I took the class in 1986, and then it was a newly enacted law that front seat driver and passenger were required to wear seat belts. I had no idea it was the law for backseat passengers anywhere, and I'm a bit of a news junkie who's pretty well-informed. I wouldn't go nuts over this, op.

Both kids are probably at fault. Your son probably didn't check that his friends were properly belted but the other kid should have known to buckle up, I mean what teenager today doesn't know to always wear a seat belt? They should split the fine but the other kid's parents certainly need to hear their kid doesn't buckle up.

I live in DC and have been pulled over for a back seat passenger not wearing a seatbelt and not for any other reason so don't assume your DS was doing anything else.

I think your DS is probably lying about having checked that everyone was wearing their seat belts, but it might be because he's afraid of your reaction - you sound pretty harsh (sorry...) since you're pissed at your DS and not recognizing that it's the friend who undid the seat belt. The friend should pay the ticket. Now your son knows the laws and the fact that they will pull him over.

I think this generation of car seat kids totally knows every passenger needs to be buckled. They have never known anything else!
My guess - your kid was pulled over for something else and got off. I can't imagine a cop citing a backseat passenger unrestrained as a primary violation unless they are hanging out a window or something. Friend should definitely pay the ticket and accept that your DS will never drive him again. Your DS should be restricted from passengers for a while too to make the point that he needs to take having passengers more seriously.

Anonymous wrote:Wait, there are people who didn't know you need to be buckled in the back seat????

Wow, I'm totally surprised. I took driver's ed in public school in 1985 and I knew that seatbelts are necessary (even if not required by law at the time).

It's not common knowledge that the rules of physics apply to the back seat?

Oh, so your kids wear seat belts on bus rides/field trips? Or do the laws of physics not apply then?

Of course we all know one "should" wear a seat belt - but whether or not it is legally required is a totally different question. And iin 1985 it is doubtful even front seat drivers were required to do so.

Wait, there are people who didn't know you need to be buckled in the back seat????

Wow, I'm totally surprised. I took driver's ed in public school in 1985 and I knew that seatbelts are necessary (even if not required by law at the time).

It's not common knowledge that the rules of physics apply to the back seat?

Anonymous wrote:OP here. They got stopped in DC and the friend is probably 17, not really sure. The friend claims he wasn't aware he had to be belted in the back seat and has offered to pay the ticket but I'm furious that DS was driving with someone unrestrained, although he claims he checked before driving off and the other kid was wearing it. Why would you take off a seat belt after you've already buckled it? Doesn't make sense.

Oy vey.

The kid was lying or else ... really, a kid, any kid over age 3, not knowing seatbelts need to be worn 100% of the time? Hard to believe.

Let your son handle it. Either he pays for it, or he tells the friend to pony up. Stay out of it--if he's old enough to drive, he's old enough to communicate with his friend and get it resolved.

Anonymous wrote:According to the DC Click it or Ticket it page, all passengers must wear a seatbelt, not just minors:

It's a $50 fine and 2 points for not having your seat belt buckled at all times - for drivers and all passengers, front and back seats.

This is all over a $50 fine?? Pretty low. Friend should def pay up.

Can you go to traffic school to get the points off your license?

According to the DC Click it or Ticket it page, all passengers must wear a seatbelt, not just minors:

It's a $50 fine and 2 points for not having your seat belt buckled at all times - for drivers and all passengers, front and back seats.

Both kids are at fault so the friend should pay since your son is getting the points.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. They got stopped in DC and the friend is probably 17, not really sure. The friend claims he wasn't aware he had to be belted in the back seat and has offered to pay the ticket but I'm furious that DS was driving with someone unrestrained, although he claims he checked before driving off and the other kid was wearing it. Why would you take off a seat belt after you've already buckled it? Doesn't make sense.

Oy vey.

Friend should pay.

Honestly, they're 17. Adults take off their seatbelt to get something out of their pocket, or to reach something that has rolled out of reach all the time, or because it's gotten uncomfortably tight. A 17 year old is going to do those things too. I'm not saying they should, or that they shouldn't put it right back on, but it happens all the time.

Np here. I drive in DC all the time and I had no idea that backseat passengers needed to be buckled, so I certainly could not fault my kid or his friend for not knowing that. I agree with the posters that your kid was probably doing something else to get pulled over (speeding, driving erractically, whatever) so unless you are prepared to find that out and then report that to your kid's passenger's parents, then no ai do not think you should report the seatbelt thing to the passenger's parents. Bottom line to me is that if your kid is old enough/responsible enough to be driving, he has to deal with these things on his own. I would suggest he talk to his friend, explain that the friend got him into trouble and ask him to split the ticket.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. They got stopped in DC and the friend is probably 17, not really sure. The friend claims he wasn't aware he had to be belted in the back seat and has offered to pay the ticket but I'm furious that DS was driving with someone unrestrained, although he claims he checked before driving off and the other kid was wearing it. Why would you take off a seat belt after you've already buckled it? Doesn't make sense.

Oy vey.

I think you're being hard on your kid. While, technically, it's your kid's responsibility to make sure everyone is buckled in, it's not unreasonable to assume that the (nearly adult) passenger has fastened his seat belt. The other kid should pay the ticket.

+1. I would have no clue if someone in the backseat undid their seatbelt.

Agreed, but I'm calling bullshit on the "I checked him mom before I drove, I really did" story. It's one thing to just not buckle up but it would be really ballsy to wait and unbuckle after the driver checks for seat belts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. They got stopped in DC and the friend is probably 17, not really sure. The friend claims he wasn't aware he had to be belted in the back seat and has offered to pay the ticket but I'm furious that DS was driving with someone unrestrained, although he claims he checked before driving off and the other kid was wearing it. Why would you take off a seat belt after you've already buckled it? Doesn't make sense.

Oy vey.

I think you're being hard on your kid. While, technically, it's your kid's responsibility to make sure everyone is buckled in, it's not unreasonable to assume that the (nearly adult) passenger has fastened his seat belt. The other kid should pay the ticket.

+1. I would have no clue if someone in the backseat undid their seatbelt.

Anonymous wrote:What was he really pulled over for? I would think the unbelted passenger wouldn't be noticed until the police officer stuck his head in a car that had already been pulled over.

If he's a teen driver, I'd instill a no-passenger rule because his friends are unreliable. If the friend is a teen, I'd call his parents. Seriously, the friend should pay the ticket.

I bet he was pulled over for something else and the cop let him off with just the no seat belt ticket. Doesn't excuse the other kid for being dumb and I'd still call the parents. They need to know.