<P> Most seat belt laws in the United States are left to the states . However , the first seat belt law was a federal law , Title 49 of the United States Code , Chapter 301 , Motor Vehicle Safety Standard , which took effect on January 1 , 1968 , that required all vehicles ( except buses ) to be fitted with seat belts in all designated seating positions . This law has since been modified to require three - point seat belts in outboard - seating positions , and finally three - point seat belts in all seating positions . Initially , seat belt use was voluntary . New York was the first state to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seat belts , a law that came into effect on December 1 , 1984 . Officer Nicholas Cimmino of the link Westchester County Department of Public Safety wrote the nations first ticket for such violation . </P>
<P> Most seat belt laws in the United States are left to the states . However , the first seat belt law was a federal law , Title 49 of the United States Code , Chapter 301 , Motor Vehicle Safety Standard , which took effect on January 1 , 1968 , that required all vehicles ( except buses ) to be fitted with seat belts in all designated seating positions . This law has since been modified to require three - point seat belts in outboard - seating positions , and finally three - point seat belts in all seating positions . Initially , seat belt use was voluntary . New York was the first state to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seat belts , a law that came into effect on December 1 , 1984 . Officer Nicholas Cimmino of the link Westchester County Department of Public Safety wrote the nations first ticket for such violation . </P>
when did seat belts become mandatory to wear
when did seat belts become mandatory to wear
January 1 , 1968
January 1 , 1968