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 Centre for Road Safety Research, 2011, p. 2-13) New York was the first state to pass a mandatory seat belt law, followed by New Jersey. In New York, failure to wear seat belts resulted in a $50 fine, which was not a minor change in 1985. Officials said that thanks to the law, seat belt compliance in New York had risen to 70 percent in less than a year, but that didn`t mean everyone loved it. As one Bronx resident grumbled, „It`s not supposed to be Russia, where the government tells you what to do and when to do it.” U.S.

seat belt laws may be subject to primary or secondary application. The main app allows a law enforcement officer to stop and punish a driver if they discover an offence. Secondary enforcement means that a peace officer can only stop or summon a driver for seat belt violation if the driver has simultaneously committed another predicate offence (e.B speeding, driving over a stop sign, etc.). New Hampshire is the only U.S. state that, by law, does not require adult drivers to wear seat belts when driving a motor vehicle. „As of July 2010, 31 states and the District of Columbia had primary belt use laws, 18 states had secondary enforcement laws, and New Hampshire had no Adult Belt Use Act (IIHS, [undated])” (UNC Highway Safety Research Center, 2011, pp. 2-13). Seat belt laws vary depending on whether they cover only front seat occupants or also include rear seat occupants.

In some states, seat belt use is a secondary law for drivers and passengers over a certain age (varies by state), but a primary law for younger passengers. In the past, a rear passenger was not required to wear a seat belt. Instead, only the driver and passenger, as well as the children in the back seat, had to wear a seat belt. While it may seem counterintuitive to give motorists a pass to wear the seat belt if they are injured, Illinois lawmakers specifically provided that not wearing the seat belt does not mean the plaintiff should reduce their damages: „The Reagan administration has been put in a difficult situation,” Mashaw says. They were outright deregulation officials and the Supreme Court told them they had to regulate. There`s no way they could justify saying that passive restrictions weren`t working, so Elizabeth Dole, then secretary of the Department of Transport, came up with what I thought was an ingenious compromise. Illinois law requires all drivers and passengers (front and rear seats) 8 years of age and older to wear seat belts, even if the vehicle is equipped with airbags. A child must be protected under the guidelines of the Child Passenger Protection Act. Whenever a person carries a child under the age of 8, they are responsible for properly securing the child in an appropriate child restraint system that includes a booster seat. Each person is responsible for properly fastening that child in a seat belt when carrying a child from the age of 8 but under the age of 16. If the vehicle used to transport children under the age of eight is equipped with lap belts only in the back seat and the child weighs more than 40 pounds, the child may only be carried with a lap belt in the back seat.

If a combination of pelvic girdle and shoulder strap is available, the child must be restrained in a booster seat. If you are driving in a truck equipped only with a front seat equipped with seat belts, a child under 8 years of age must be restrained in an appropriate child restraint system. 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. Aside from the lack of state-specific data, no information is available on other factors related to violations, such as .B the use of seat belts or sitting belts, and only injuries reported in hospital emergency rooms are included, which would likely underestimate the number of injuries. Lobbying has been intense, with senior executives from General Motors and Chrysler, including Lee Iacocca, making a direct speech to state lawmakers on seat belt safety. „At the end of the day, we had both airbags and mandatory seatbelt laws,” says Mashaw. „There was still a lot of resistance from people who thought it was a terrible violation of their freedom.

People were selling t-shirts that made it look like you were wearing a seat belt. Traynor, 2009, examined correlations between recent changes in youth driving regulations, DWI laws, seat belt laws, and differences in road deaths using 1999-2003 data from the 48 contiguous states. After taking into account many factors that affected the risk of accidental death, such as weather conditions, law enforcement expenses and speed limits, he found that the death rate per kilometer decreased insignificantly with the increasing severity of seat belt laws, where a primary law was the strictest for all occupants. The author suggested that this could be due to the design of the model, which takes into account the interaction between seat belt laws and alcohol restrictions for drivers. 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 predicate offence (p.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. However, NHTSA has not given up seat belts. It adopted a new rule in 1977 that put the ball directly in the realm of car manufacturers. Detroit had to install some sort of „passive restraint” — a system that worked automatically without driver intervention — that would protect a crash test dummy from damage if it crashed into a wall at 35 miles per hour.

It is the driver`s responsibility to ensure that ALL passengers comply with the Seat Belt Act and the Child and Passenger Protection Act. Anyone found guilty of non-compliance with this law will be liable to a fine and legal costs. Most seat belt laws in the United States are left to the states and territories. However, the first seat belt law was a federal law, Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Safety Standard, which came into effect on January 1, 1968, requiring that all vehicles (except buses) be equipped with seat belts in all designated seating positions. [1] This law has since been amended to require three-point seat belts in outdoor positions and finally three-point seat belts in all seated positions. [2] Initially, seat belt use was voluntary. New York was the first state to pass a law requiring vehicle occupants to wear seat belts, a law that went into effect on December 1, 1984. New Hampshire is the only state that does not have enforceable laws for wearing seat belts in a vehicle. [3] L. Beck and West, 2011, used data from the 2008 Nationally Representative Behavioural Risk Factors Surveillance System (FSRO) survey to compare seat belt use. They found that 88.2 percent of adults living in states where seat belt laws are primarily enforced reported always wearing a seat belt, compared to 79.2 percent in states with secondary laws. Differences in seat belt use existed in some socio-demographic categories, but use rates were higher for each group in states where seat belt laws were primarily enforced.

This list contains only seat belt laws, which often do not apply to children themselves. Nevertheless, the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the 5 inhabited U.S. territories have separate child restraint laws. [Note 1] Note that these fines are only the basic fines. In many cases, significant additional fees, such as the head injury fund and forensic security fees, can often increase the total fine imposed by five. These also apply to a „first offence”, and the fines for subsequent infringements are often much higher. [Citation needed] Failure to wear a seat belt in violation of this section shall not be considered as evidence of negligence, shall not limit the liability of an insurer and shall not reduce compensation for damage resulting from the ownership, maintenance or operation of a motor vehicle. .