2020 seat belt law helped boost New York from ‘yellow’ to ‘green’ rating in highway safety report by Mary Stroka, The Center Square | January 29, 2021 12:00 PM Print this article Following the passage of Senate Bill 4336/Assembly Bill 6163 in 2020, New York received “green,” the highest rating, in the 18th annual Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws report, which Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety released this month. The law extends the mandate that all vehicle passengers 16 and older wear a seat belt from solely applying to front seat passengers to applying to all passengers. “We were thrilled to be a part of the diverse and large coalition that helped to get the seat belt upgrade over the finish line,” said Tara Gill, Advocates’ senior director advocacy and state legislation. “It had been many sessions and many years in the making, and this is one of the primary traffic safety bills that we recommend. It helped New York go from the yellow to the green category, which is fantastic.”