The driver and every occupant of a motor vehicle, when it is being operated on the public streets and highways of this State, must wear a fastened safety belt which complies with all provisions of federal law for its use. The driver is charged with the responsibility of requiring each occupant seventeen years of age or younger to wear a safety belt or be secured in a child restraint system as provided in Article 47 of this chapter. However, a driver is not responsible for an occupant seventeen years of age or younger who has a driver's license, special restricted license, or beginner's permit and who is not wearing a seat belt; such occupant is in violation of this article and must be fined in accordance with Section 56-5-6540.
S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-6520
Mandatory use of seat belt
Known as the Uniform Act
The act spans §§ 56–56 (418 sections).
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Clark v. Cantrell (1998)
Most recently applied in Sims v. Gregory (January 2010)
1989 Act No. 148, SECTION 47(A); 2001 Act No. 65, SECTION 2.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: South Carolina Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.