What You Need To Know About the New Seat Belt Warning Rules

U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized a rule this month requiring all new cars to sound a warning if passengers in the backseats are not wearing their seat belts. The agency also announced a rule requiring enhanced warnings for the driver and passenger seats in the front of vehicles. The later rule takes effect on Sep. 1, 2026, while the new rule for backseat passengers goes into effect a year later, on Sep. 1, 2027.

Only 81.7 percent of people riding in the backseat wear their seat belts, according to a press release from the NHTSA, compared to more than 91 percent of people in the front seat. The new rules are directly aimed at reducing the number of deaths and injuries resulting from passengers not wearing seat belts. The NHTSA estimates that these rules will prevent more than 50 fatalities and 500 injuries. Each year, an estimated 822 backseat passengers lose their lives, and another 11,000 suffer injuries from not wearing safety belts.

What Kind of Seat Belt Alerts Are Required By The New Rule?

The rule requires vehicles to provide a visual alert once the ignition is on and the seat belt isn’t in use for an occupied rear seat. Once the vehicle starts moving, the rule requires an audio alert as well, so something like the beeps, buzzes or dings cars sound now when the driver isn’t wearing their seat belt. Visual warnings must last for at least 60 seconds, while audio warnings must last for at least 30 seconds.

Some form of rear seat alert is already fairly common in newer cars. The agency says that approximately 47 percent of cars made in 2022 have that feature.

For the front seats, the new rule mandates that the audio and visual warnings be extended. The rule requires the audio warning for the front seats to work in two phases. The first must last at least 30 seconds. A second phase will activate only when the vehicle speed is moving at 6.2 miles per hour or faster and the seats are occupied but the seat belt is not in use.

What Kinds of Vehicles Does the New Seat Belt Warning Rule Cover?

Almost everything sold in the United States will be covered by the new rule: cars, trucks, busses (with the exception of school busses) and multi-purpose passenger vehicles with a weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less.

When Were Seat Belts First Required In Cars?

Knowing what we know now, it’s hard to believe that there was a time when carmakers weren’t required to install seat belts in vehicles. The Federal Government made it a requirement in 1968, but it wasn’t until 1984 that states started passing mandatory seat belt laws. New York was the first state do so in that year, and by 1995, every state but New Hampshire had a similar law on the books. New Hampshire still does not require adults to wear seat belts, but the Granite State does require passengers under 18 to be properly restrained with a seat belt or a car seat for passengers under 7 years or 57 inches tall.

When Did Seat Belt Alarms Become Mandatory?

Seat belt reminders have been around for a while, and the United States made them mandatory for drivers starting in 1972.

How Many Lives Are Saved By Seat Belts?

The NHTSA estimates that 14,955 lives were saved because of seat belt use when people were involved in a crash. In 2022, the agency reports that there were 25,420 fatalities in car crashes among vehicle occupants, and about 50 percent of those people were not wearing a seat belt.

According to the agency’s data, you risk of fatal injury in a passenger car drops by 45 percent for anyone in the front seats wearing a seat belt. Risk of moderate to critical injury drops by 50 percent. In light trucks, the risk of death drops by 60 percent and moderate to critical injury by 65 percent.

In other words, buckle up and make sure anyone riding in your car has their seat belt on, too. Let this be your official warning from your friends at Family Handyman.