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This is going to sound weird but it's something I heard on the street today and just had to ask about...
At least three different people on St. John have been pulled over, and in some cases ticketed, for not having a seatbelt on their dog. Now, how you get a dog to sit still behind a seatbelt is beyond me, but has anyone heard of this happening before? In one of the cases, the cop who pulled someone over for this doggie violation is one who is known on St. John as a hothead who believes he is above the law, so I'm wondering if maybe it was a power trip kind of thing. There is nothing that I can see in the driver's manual about putting a seatbelt on a dog, although it does say, "No person shall operate a motor vehicle unless the operator and any passenger in the front seat of the vehicle are restrained by a safety belt."
"any passenger" = dog? I would assume "any passenger" would apply only to humans, but you know what happens when you assume...
Posted : August 15, 2006 6:19 pm
I did see (actually my husband saw) someone pulled over for driving with their dog on their lap on STJ - so maybe that is it??? don't know but just a thought.
Posted : August 15, 2006 7:15 pm
From the Virgin Islands Code : TITLE 20 HIGHWAYS AND MOTOR VEHICLES : PART II. MOTOR VEHICLES : Chapter 41. Equipment and Inspection of Vehicles : § 466. Operation of motor vehicles with safety belts and safety seats
(a) No person shall operate a motor vehicle unless the operator and any passenger in the front seat of the vehicle are restrained by a safety belt. Passengers under five years of age shall use a specially designed detachable or removable seat which meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.243. In the case of a child aged three through five, seat belts may be substituted but the child must ride in the rear seat of the vehicle.
(b) For the purpose of this section, the term "motor vehicle" includes all motor vehicles as defined by section 301 of this title, except for those motor vehicles manufactured before January 1, 1978, buses, authorized emergency vehicles and trucks with a maximum gross weight of 18,000 pounds or more.
(c) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than $50.00 and not more than $200.00. Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more than $400.00. Any person convicted of three or more violations within a three-year period shall be fined not less than $200.00 and not more than $500.00 and may have his driving privileges suspended for a period not to exceed one year.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to an operator or passenger with a physically disabling condition whose physical disability would prevent appropriate restraint by safety belt or safety seat, provided that such condition is certified by a physician who shall state the nature of the handicap, as well as the reason the restraint is inappropriate.
I guess a passenger doesn't have to be human. 🙂
Posted : August 15, 2006 7:39 pm
Is the passenger's age calculated in people years or dog years? If an infant requires a child seat, does a puppy require a puppy seat? Does island law enforcement undergo special training to learn how to eyeball the age of hounds in order to determine their specific seating and belting requirements? Enquiring minds want to know!
Posted : August 15, 2006 8:24 pm
And yet we allow drivers to scurry around the curves or fly down the highway with a pick up bed full of passengers, sometimes children? I never ceased to be amazed...but you can actually buy doggy seatbelts, if you are so inclined....dntw8up, you are hilarious!
Posted : August 15, 2006 8:45 pm
I am with Becky on this one. Can't tell you how many times I have seen a truck with the back full of construction workers, hitchhikers or kids that is flying along, passing on blind corners etc..
My question is can Fido drink a cold Heinekeen as long as he is buckled up????
Posted : August 15, 2006 8:58 pm
The Greenie is okay. But he can't bark on his cell phone without a paw-free device!
Posted : August 15, 2006 9:25 pm
I would love to be in court when this goes before a judge.
I don't have a dog, but I'm tempted to go out and get one just so I can get one of these tickets and contest it.
Posted : August 16, 2006 1:15 pm
