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An Act To Increase the Safety of Automobile Drivers
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2081, sub-§3-A,  as amended by PL 2007, c. 60, §1, is further amended to read:
 
3-A. Other passengers 18 years of age and older; operators.   When a person 18 years of age or older is a passenger in a vehicle that is required by the United States Department of Transportation to be equipped with seat belts, the passenger must be properly secured in a seat belt. Each such passenger is responsible for wearing a seat belt as required by this subsection, and a passenger that fails to wear a seat belt as required by this subsection is subject to the enforcement provisions of subsection 4. The operator of a vehicle that is required by the United States Department of Transportation to be equipped with seat belts must be properly secured in the operator's seat belt. Violation of this subsection is a traffic infraction for which a fine of $50 for the first offense, $125 for the 2nd offense and $250 for the 3rd and subsequent offenses must be imposed. A fine imposed under this subsection may not be suspended by the court. A vehicle, the contents of a vehicle, the driver of or a passenger in a vehicle may not be inspected or searched solely because of a violation of this subsection.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires an operator of a vehicle to be properly secured in the operator's seat belt instead of simply secured. This requires the chest strap to be used by operators in addition to the lap belt.