Florida Governor signs bill allowing rural carriers to deliver mail without wearing seat belts

May 22, 2015 – Northwest Florida state senator Greg Evers (R-Baker) sponsored a bill last year that would allow rural letter carriers to deliver mail without wearing seat belts.

The state’s law requiring motorists to wear seat belts included limited exemptions, such as for workers collecting garbage or recyclable goods. Evers’ bill (SB 160) made an exemption for rural letter carriers “performing duties in the course of his or her employment on a designated postal route.”

Yesterday, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the bill into law.

The bill:

Rural Letter Carriers; Exempting a rural letter carrier of the United States Postal Service from safety belt usage requirements while performing his or her duties on a designated postal route, etc.

By Senator Greg Evers

2-00193-15 2015160__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to rural letter carriers; amending s.
3 316.614, F.S.; exempting a rural letter carrier of the
4 United States Postal Service from safety belt usage
5 requirements while performing his or her duties on a
6 designated postal route; providing an effective date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10 Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (6) of
11 section 316.614, Florida Statutes, to read:
12 316.614 Safety belt usage.—
13 (6)
14 (e) A rural letter carrier of the United States Postal
15 Service is not required to be restrained by a safety belt while
16 performing duties in the course of his or her employment on a
17 designated postal route.
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.