<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 Westchester County Department of Public Safety wrote the nation's first ticket for such violation . </P> <P> U.S. seatbelt laws may be subject to primary enforcement or secondary enforcement . Primary enforcement allows a police officer to stop and ticket a driver if he or she observes a violation . Secondary enforcement means that a police officer may only stop or cite a driver for a seatbelt violation if the driver committed another primary violation (such as speeding, running a stop sign, etc .) at the same time . New Hampshire is the only U.S. state that does not by law require adult drivers to wear safety belts while operating a motor vehicle . </P>

When did seat belts become mandatory in usa