Clincher

Yesterday, as a back seat passenger (not the driver or front seat) I received a NZ $150 ticket for not wearing a seat belt. Honestly I did not know there was a law requiring a seat belt in the rear seats. No warning, no signs (who looks at signs when are not driving anyway), no leniency just a ticket for $150. NY has no such law for back seat passengers. A plain clothes,policeman stood at the light watching for those not wearing a seat belt and radios ahead to police officers waiting to pull you over.
Anyway I guess it makes the most sense just to pay the fine. I feel the need to complain although I am sure no one will care. I also am tempted not to pay since it will be a long time until I return, of course that may not be the right thing to do either. Any suggestions? Anyone else had this happen to you?
Only been here two days and this happens, sort of spoils the vacation and I feel the need to warn others if this happens to be a new trend to enforce this law on tourist.
Maybe this is how they are planning on paying for all the earthquake damage.

Scifience

Yes, it is the law.

http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regul...LM2255794.html

NY may well not have such a law, but since NZ does and you are in NZ, that is rather a moot point. Pay your fine and chalk it up as an expensive lesson; these things have a way of making trouble if ignored, particularly with the number of countries that now share data on such matters.

nux

A lot of countries have this as a law. I think you'll find a lot of laws in other countries are different to those in NY/America..

Who are you going to complain to? The NZ Government because their laws are different to America's?

alanR

Entrapment? Are you saying that an undercover officer told you to take your seat belt off

Most people would check the driving laws of the country (or state for that matter) they are visiting

N1120A

I don't see any issue with this. Remember when a certain Princess died? Directly attributable to lack of seat belt use in the back seat of a very safe car.

Its been the law in California since we adopted our first mandatory seat belt law in the 80s.

acesflyerSFO

Yes, one should check if you are driving, but the OP was a rear seat passenger, obviously visiting. Courtesy would say let him off with a warning / unless they hate tourist.

*A Flyer

You can equally flip that around and say that courtesy would suggest one should acknowledge and adhere to local laws and customs when visiting a foreign country. They don't have to tell you about the laws with big signs (especially laws that are so common around the world).

Jenbel

A fine may seem harsh, but he is required to obey the laws. Ignorance is no excuse. NZ may operate zero tolerance on this for all we know.

It's also the law in the UK - here the fine is usually £60, but can be up to £500. Drivers are responsible for ensuring children are wearing seatbelts and adults are responsible for their own. I usually remind visitors to my country this is the case. It's now a habit for me to wear a seatbelt, regardless of the law wherever I am or which seat I am in in a car. Good habit to get into. May be because I am so used to wearing them, I'm wondering why the OP didn't wear them, given the safety benefits.

BadgerBoi

NY is not the centre of the universe. There is no reason that their laws would apply in New Zealand.

Charming.

rooivalk

ignorance of the law is no defence. and the comment about paying about earthquake damage is going to piss off a few New Zealanders.

Christopher

And not surprisingly so.

As others have said, ignorance of the law is not an excuse and, in any case (for what it's worth), it is not, I think, uncommon around the world for the law to require rear-seat passengers to wear a seatbelt, although that might not be the case in New York state.

Without knowing what the law, regulations and common practice are in New Zealand for this offence regarding the imposition of a fine, it is impossible to say whether being let off with a warning was an option that could legitimately have been exercised or not.

lin821

Yes, everyone in the vehicle has to buckle up in Taiwan since Aug 1st, 2011.

Even though yours is not the same offense, not in the States, and no girlfriend in the picture, this legend thread about an unpaid ticket may shed some light of what FTers may say to you:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...plcations.html

I would think FTers' advice to you would be about the same (minus the getting-a-new-GF part ).

D582

The bigger question is why you were not wearing a seat belt to begin with, regardless of what the law says. It's common sense.

Why should they let him off if he's a tourist? Ignorance is never an excuse. Americans driving in Canada often get speeding tickets because they "forget" that our signs are in metric.

adampenrith

Let's focus on not wearing the seatbelt.
Go around the next corner and you have a no fault accident.
You get thrown out of the car, as not wearing a seatbelt you have not protection.
Serious injury, you die!!!
Wear your safety device and stop whining about some police officer trying to keep you alive

maracle

More than half of US states require a seatbelt in the rear seat too. And it's a primary law in some of them.

This isn't exactly a strange or unique law.

Pay the fine, enjoy New Zealand.