State v. Massey

OPINION

BAKER, Chief Judge.

Indiana Code section 9-19-10-2 (the seatbelt statute) provides, in relevant part, that each occupant of a motor vehicle equipped with a safety belt “shall have a safety belt properly fastened about the occupant’s body at all times when the vehicle is in forward motion.” Is an occupant who has the lap belt fastened but who is not wearing the shoulder belt across his shoulder violating the statute? The purpose of the seatbelt statute and the language chosen by the legislature lead us to conclude that an occupant must have the lap belt fastened and wear the shoulder…