Q:I have a '62 Buick that did not come with seat belts. Does the new Minnesota seat belt law mean I have to get belts for my convertible? - Nathan H. St Louis Park
A:The text of this statute (at least as it appears on the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes website, here: www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/laws/?key=57649) indicates that you do not need to fit seat belts to a 1962 vehicle.
The law did make changes to the seat belt requirement, including the one below (about midway down the web page mentioned above):
"Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 169.686, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Seat belt requirement. (a) Except as provided in section 169.685, a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt, including both the shoulder and lap belt when the vehicle is so equipped, shall be worn by: (1) the driver and passengers of a passenger vehicle or, commercial motor vehicle, type III vehicle, and type III Head Start vehicle;"
At first blush, this provision would seem to include your car among other passenger vehicles. But if you look on the web page at the paragraph below that one, Section 7, subdivision 2, you will find language that says, "Seat belt exceptions. This section shall not apply to:" (followed by a list).
Scan down that list and you will see that the seat belt requirement does not apply to "(6) a person driving or riding in a passenger vehicle manufactured before January 1, 1965."
Thus, unless the revisions were not accurately incorporated into this official Office of the Revisor page, your car can remain belt-free because it was built in 1962. Not all police officers can necessarily identify a car's production year by sight, however, so you could conceivably be pulled over for not wearing a belt. Proof that your car is exempt due to year of manufacture, like your registration identifying it as a 1962 Buick, should be enough to address the issue and avoid a ticket if that was the only perceived infraction.
