Staff Analysis of the Legislation
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This bill allows "failure to wear a seat belt" to be admissible as evidence in civil actions for the purpose of mitigating damages. Georgia counties are often defendants in cases involving motor vehicle accidents where the plaintiffs argue that an accident was caused in an alleged defect in a county road. This bill simply allows counties, as defendants, to introduce evidence that if a front seat passenger, aged 14 years or older, had been wearing a seat belt as required by law, he or she may have suffered less extensive injuries. If a jury finds that the failure to wear a seat belt contributed to the occupant's injuries, the jury would be required to reduce the occupant's recover to the extent that the injuries were caused by failure to wear the seat belt. |