What States Have a Backseat Seat Belt Law

According to the AAP, once children have grown up out of the rear-facing car seat, children should travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and leash until they reach the size and weight limits for those seats (many forward-facing car seats can accommodate children up to 65 pounds). When children reach the size and weight limits of forward-facing seats, they must be restrained with a booster seat positioning the belt. Montana – Montana has a secondary seat belt law that applies to drivers and all other occupants of a vehicle. “The Treasure State” requires appropriate child restraint systems for children under the age of 6 or weighing less than 60 pounds. Primary seat belt laws state that the police have the right to stop you and give you a ticket if you have your seat belt unbuckled. State laws on adult seat belts can be divided into the following categories: Federal agencies should require vehicles to have a visual display that alerts the driver when rear passengers are not fastened. You must also extend the audible warning required for the front seat. Seat belt laws are effective in reducing the number of deaths in car accidents. [21] One study found that mandatory buckling laws reduced road fatalities by 8% and serious traffic accidents by 9%. [22] Primary seat belt laws appear to be more effective than secondary laws in reducing the number of fatalities in accidents. [23] [24] Georgia – The Peach State has a primary seat belt law that requires drivers and front seat passengers 18 years of age and older to wear seat belts. Passengers between the ages of 8 and 17 must wear a seat belt on each seat of the vehicle. Child detention laws apply to any passenger under the age of 8.

Arkansas – “The Natural State” has a primary seat belt law that requires children who climb into the front or back seats to fasten their seatbelts. Children must drive in an appropriate child restraint system until they reach the age of 6 or 60 pounds. In 15 of the 50 states, seat belt law is considered a secondary offense, meaning a police officer can`t stop a driver and issue a ticket for the seat belt failure offense alone. (One exception is Colorado, where children who are not properly detained are a predicate offense and are subject to a much higher fine.) If a driver commits a principal violation (e.B. for speeding), he or she may also be charged with not wearing a seat belt. In most states, seat belt law was originally a secondary offence; In many, it was later changed to a primary offense: California was the first state to make this change, in 1993. Of the 30 states with primary seat belt laws, all except California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington originally had only secondary law enforcement laws. Most states allow adults to drive without restraint in pickup beds designed to carry goods and offer no protection in the event of an accident. Due to a tight curve, people can easily be thrown out of the holds at a relatively low speed to avoid an obstacle or accident. Systematic reviews of the literature show that primary and secondary laws reduce deaths and non-fatal injuries, but that primary laws have the greatest effect (Dinh-Zarr et al., 2001; Rivara et al., 1999). The differential effect of primary and secondary laws on deaths is estimated to be between 3% and 14% (Dinh-Zarr et al., 2001). The seat belt use rate observed in 2019 among front seat occupants was about 6 times higher than in 1983 (91% versus 14%) (Transportation Research Board, 2003).

The following graph shows the changes in belt use during this period. L. Beck and West, 2011, also reviewed data on vehicle occupant injuries from the 2001-2009 National Electronic Injury Monitoring Program – All Injuries Program (NEISS-AIP). The data are at the national level and do not allow comparisons between states with and without primary enforcement of seat belt laws, but show a 15.6% decrease in the violation rate, from 1,193.8 violations per 100,000 inhabitants in 2001 to 1,007.5 in 2009. During this period, 14 other states passed primary seat belt laws. In addition to the lack of state-specific data, no information is available on other injury-related factors, such as. B, the use of seat belts or seating belts, and only injuries reported in hospital emergency rooms are included, which would likely underestimate the number of injuries. Many experts believe that Princess Diana would still be alive today if she had worn a seat belt while driving in the back seat of a Mercedes that crashed in Paris in August 1997. All new passenger cars had a seat belt shape from 1964, shoulder belts in 1968, and lap belts and shoulder belts integrated in 1974 ([Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS)], 2001). Only a few detainees wore the belt: surveys conducted at various locations showed that the use of the belt was about 10 per cent. The first large-scale survey, conducted in 19 cities in 1982, observed 11% of seat belt use by drivers and passengers ([Williams and Wells, 2004]).

(UNC Road Safety Research Centre, 2011, pp. 2-4) Wearing a seat belt in the back may not be comfortable, but it helps to improve the safety of every passenger in the vehicle, as well as the driver. While the law doesn`t require you to wear your seat belt as a rear passenger, it`s still a good idea to buckle up. Let`s take a closer look at seat belt laws and why you should fasten your seat belt in the back seat and front seat, regardless of what the law says in your state. While the law doesn`t require it in many states, it`s important that rear seat drivers also wear their seat belts — not only for their own safety, but also for the safety of passengers and the driver. In an accident, an unsealed rear passenger is five times more likely to cause fatal injuries to the front seat occupant, even if the front occupants are tethered and an airbag is deployed, according to the Telegraph. New York enacted the first belt use law in 1984. Other states quickly followed. In a typical state, belt use rapidly increased to about 50% shortly after the state`s belt law went into effect” (UNC Highway Safety Research Center, 2011, pp.

2-4). Until 1996, all states except New Hampshire had a mandatory seat belt law that covered drivers and front seat occupants. In 2009, seat belt use averaged 88% in the 30 states with the strictest seat belt laws at the time and in the District of Columbia, and an average of 77% in those with weaker enforcement laws ([Chen and Ye, 2010]). Studies of 5 states that changed their belt use laws from secondary to primary application found that belt use increased from 12 to 18 percentage points when all passenger cars fell under the law, and from 8 percentage points in a state where pickup trucks were excluded (Nichols, 2002). The systematic review of 13 high-quality studies conducted by the [Centers] for Disease Control and Prevention ([Shults et al., 2004]) found that primary laws increase seat belt use by about 14 percentage points and reduce inmate deaths by about 8% compared to secondary laws. In another study, Farmer and Williams (2005) found that car driver mortality rates dropped by 7% as states moved from secondary to primary application. On average, states that pass primary seat belt laws can expect to increase seat belt use by eight percentage points. However, depending on the level of high-visibility law enforcement they use, much better outcomes are possible. (UNC ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH CENTRE, 2011, p. 1).

2-13) No matter what state you live in, there`s a good chance that seat belt laws are much stricter than they used to be. Some seniors remember moving freely in the back seat and climbing into the back window during their family vacation. Today, there is more traffic on the roads and a greater risk of being injured in an accident. We also have research that proves that wearing seat belts saves lives. A well-fitting belt offers the best protection, but any restraint is better than not at all. Among passengers in states that don`t have laws requiring them to buckle up in the back seat, men wore their seat belts only 10 percent of the time, according to the LeaseTrader.com survey. Among women, the figure was 16%. However, the same people said they fastened their seatbelts on the front seat about 75% of the time.

New York City – The Empire State has a primary seat belt law that requires all passengers to fasten their seatbelts. .