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Missouri and Kansas – Seat Belt, Impaired Driving, and Other Motor Vehicle Law

Bottaro, Morefield, Kubin & Yocum, P.C., treat state and federal vehicle regulations with the utmost respect. We believe that all drivers have the responsibility to ensure not only their own safety but also the safety of others by driving cautiously and always wearing seatbelts. With a thorough knowledge of state and federal vehicle laws – including those having to do with seatbelt and helmet use, reckless driving, and alcohol use – our lawyers will ensure that your case is accurately represented. In order to further the cause of public safety, we provide an overview here of some of the pertinent laws affecting Kansas and Missouri, including state seatbelt law information.

Kansas and Missouri Seatbelt Law
Drunk Driving Law
Motorcycle Helmet Law
Reckless Driving and Driver Responsibilities

Kansas and Missouri Seatbelt Law

Seatbelt law in both Kansas and Missouri requires all front-seat passengers to wear seatbelts unless they are specially exempted. In Missouri, seatbelt law requires that children aged four through 15 must be buckled up; in Kansas, this seatbelt law applies to children aged four through 14. In both states, children who are under four years old or less than 40 pounds must be secured in a child passenger restraint system (car seat). Meanwhile, either a car seat or a booster seat is necessary for children under eight years old or shorter than four feet, nine inches. This is known as the Child Passenger Safety Act.

In both Kansas and Missouri, the adult seatbelt regulation is a secondary law, meaning that a driver cannot be pulled over solely for a seat belt violation. The Child Passenger Safety Act, on the other hand, is a primary law, and a driver may be stopped for this violation alone. The Missouri House Committee on Transportation recently approved a measure to make adult seatbelt use a primary law, although it still must be approved by the House and Senate floors in order to gain passage.

Seatbelt use can cut a person’s risk of being killed or suffering serious personal injury in a car accident or truck accident by 45 to 50 percent, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Our firm strongly urges all drivers and passengers to take this simple but crucial step in ensuring their own and their children’s safety.

Drunk Driving Law

Kansas and Missouri have both adopted the .08 BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) law, which makes it illegal for a person with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more to operate a moving vehicle. Drivers who violate this law are not only susceptible to criminal charges, but can also be tried in civil suits by people who have been harmed by their actions. If you have been injured or have suffered the loss of a family member in a drunk driving accident, the responsible party may be required to pay you compensatory and/or punitive damages.

Motorcycle Helmet Law

Missouri and Kansas motorcycle helmet law, like the seatbelt law, is designed to reduce the frequency of serious injury and death among the states’ drivers. This law has proven to be effective in lowering the number of motorcyclists who ride without helmets and, consequently, the number of back and spine injuries, brain injuries, and other serious motorcycle accident injuries. Missouri law requires all motorcyclists to wear helmets, while Kansas only requires riders under the age of 18 to do so.

Reckless Driving and Driver Responsibilities

Under Kansas and Missouri state law, every person driving a motor vehicle on state roads and highways is required to exercise a reasonable amount of care and drive at a speed that will not endanger the life or property of other people. Anyone who fails to comply with this section is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. If this behavior results in an accident, it is considered a class A misdemeanor.

Reckless driving can include speeding or driving faster than weather conditions permit, driving after drinking (even if the person’s BAC does not exceed the legal limit), weaving in and out of traffic, carrying too many passengers, failing to yield to other drivers, and other negligent behavior.

Contact Bottaro, Morefield, Kubin & Yocum P.C.

If you or a loved on has been injured as a result of another person’s reckless or negligent driving, you have a right to seek damages. For more information about state law, including Missouri and Kansas drunk driving and seatbelt law, contact Bottaro, Morefield, Kubin & Yocum P.C. today. Our firm is committed to educating clients in addition to reaching fair and equitable settlements.

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Bottaro, Morefield, Kubin & Yocum, P.C.
11300 Tomahawk Creek Parkway Suite 190
Leawood, Kansas 66211

Phone: 913-948-8200
Toll Free: 866-699-5141
Fax: 913-948-8228