Safety belt use

Q&A: Safety belts

State laws

Consumer videos available for purchase

Reducing your risks in the crash — The best way to reduce the risks is to make sure everyone in the vehicle is effectively restrained. This video uses test footage of what happens during crashes to show how to get the most from occupant restraints. For example, it shows how to buckle up properly and why you should sit back from the steering wheel and airbag.

Research papers

Drivers' attitudes toward front or rear child passenger belt use and seat belt reminders at these seating positions; David G. Kidd, Anne T. McCartt, January 2013

Attitudes toward seat belt use and in-vehicle technologies for encouraging belt use; David G. Kidd, Anne T. McCartt, Nathan J. Oesch, January 2013

Research publication

90% belt use — Successful STEP: how to boost belt use like they did in Elmira, New York

Selected research bibliography

Highlights from the Institute's research since 1969

News releases

October 1, 2008 Many booster seats aren't up to the job of improving safety belt fit for children

January 13, 2005 Primary safety belt laws would save 700 lives per year — 28 states still allow ticket only if driver is stopped for another reason

May 22, 2002 Many teenagers don't buckle safety belts — even when adults driving them are using belts

December 20, 2001 Belt use increase: reminder system in Fords persuades more drivers to buckle their belts

December 20, 2000 Best & worst state traffic safety laws: some states do a better job than others

Status Report newsletter special issues

Vol 43, No. 8, October 1, 2008: Special issue: booster seats

Vol. 35, No. 10, December 20, 2000: Special issue: state traffic safety laws: includes information on safety belt use laws

Status Report newsletter articles

Vol. 48, No. 1, January 24, 2013: Drivers support strong belt reminders; European systems could be model • Back seats also should have belt reminders, parents say

Vol. 47, No. 7, September 20, 2012: U.S. surface transportation reauthorization law includes provisions for LATCH, belt reminders, teen driver laws and impaired driving research

Vol. 47, No. 2, March 6, 2012: Enhanced belt reminders can persuade motorists to buckle up without being relentless

Vol. 46, No. 2, March 1, 2011: Belt use rises when fines for not buckling up are increased

Vol. 45, No. 12, December 2, 2010: Drivers say texting, speeding, and running red lights are risky but admit to doing them anyway

Vol. 45, No. 7, August 3, 2010: Belt use increases in Maine after the state upgrades to primary law

Vol. 44, No. 7, July 11, 2009: Click It or Ticket still works to raise belt use by combining stepped-up enforcement with a media blitz • Enhanced belt reminders reduce drivers' fatality risk • Universal belt use, primary laws, and enforcement need to be priorities

Vol. 43, No. 10, November 25, 2008: New school buses must have higher seat backs, and small buses have to have shoulder belts in addition to lap belts under a new federal rule

Vol 43, No. 4, June 9, 2008: Enhanced belt reminders are convincing drivers and front-seat passengers to buckle up, NHTSA says

Vol. 42, No. 10, October 13, 2007: Allowing belts to loosen in crashes may be contributing to injuries

Vol. 41, No. 10, December 19, 2006: Four states boost buckle-up provisions

Vol. 41, No. 5, June 13, 2006: Belt reminders in Hondas are convincing motorists to buckle up • Belt reminders differ in type and persistence of the annoyance

Vol. 41, No. 2, February 25, 2006: Nighttime belt use lags compared with rates during the day • Alaska and Mississippi join states with primary belt law enforcement

Vol. 40, No. 7, August 6, 2005: Federal safety standards have saved hundreds of thousands of lives • Highway safety update: belt use

Vol. 40, No. 2, January 31, 2005: Enacting primary belt use laws in place of secondary ones would reduce deaths • Belts in all back seats, NHTSA rules

Vol. 39, No. 7, August 1, 2004: Tennessee enacts primary enforcement safety belt law

Vol. 39, No. 4, March 27, 2004: Persistent reminders to buckle up are becoming familiar in vehicles sold in the United States and Europe • 2004 models with reminders that persist beyond what's required

Vol. 38, No. 9, September 25, 2003: State legislative update: safety belts

Vol. 38, No. 8, August 26, 2003: OSHA won't require belt use on the job

Vol. 38, No. 6, June 16, 2003: Ford's reminder to buckle up earns approval among most car owners

Vol. 38, No. 1, January 11, 2003: Washington State achieves 93 percent belt use rate, highest in US • Californians favor tough enforcement of safety belt law • OSHA rejects Institute petition to expand belt use requirement from government employees to workers in private sector

Vol. 37, No. 8, September 14, 2002: Add lap belts to school buses? It won't improve safety, NHTSA tests indicate

Vol. 37, No. 6, June 8, 2002: HyperG sled acquisition launches new Institute testing programs

Vol. 37, No. 3, March 16, 2002: Some state licensing and DUI/DWI laws have been strengthened, but no safety belt laws have been changed to primary

Vol. 37, No. 2, February 9, 2002: Safety belt reminder system in late-model Fords boosts buckle-up rate • Racial/ethnic variations in belt use disappear in cities with good belt laws

Vol. 36, No. 10, November 15, 2001: 'Click It or Ticket' expands to seven states beyond North Carolina

Vol. 35, No. 9, October 21, 2000: New book debunks idea that Volvo invented three-point safety belt

Vol. 35, No. 1, January 15, 2000: Elmira, New York boosts safety belt use to nation's highest rate

Vol. 34, No. 7, July 17, 1999: Reasons for buckling up differ among motorists in the United States, Canada, England, and Australia

Vol. 33, No. 7, July 11, 1998: Cab drivers in the District of Columbia use belts, cite points as the reason

Vol. 33, No. 6, June 6, 1998: Teens still not buckling up as often as other drivers and passengers

Vol. 33, No. 2, March 7, 1998: N.C. belt use peaks at 84 percent; state seeks further gains

Vol. 32, No. 2, February 15, 1997: North Carolina seeks to raise safety belt use even higher • Driver license points would get nonusers to use belts

Regulatory comments

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning inclusion of belt fit assessment for booster seats in agency's proposed new consumer information program for child restraints (Docket No. NHTSA-2010-00062), April 22, 2011

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning petition for rulemaking to amend occupant crash protection standard to require rear seat belt reminder systems (Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0061), August 24, 2010

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning occupant crash protection, child restraint systems, and child restraint anchorage systems (Docket No. NHTSA-2008-0149), November 12, 2008

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning NCAP test improvements with pretensioners and load limiters (Docket No. NHTSA 2003-14838), August 25, 2003

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning the definition of designated vehicle seating position (Docket No. NHTSA-2005-21600), August 22, 2005

Testimony

Statement before the Virginia Senate, Transportation Committee, Effectiveness of primary belt laws, Stephen L. Oesch, January 27, 2005

Petitions

Petition to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration concerning the reconsideration of requirement for safety belt use while driving for employment purposes (Docket No. S-776), January 7, 2003

Petition to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration concerning mandatory safety belt use while driving for employment purposes (Docket No. S-776) October 10, 2002

Petition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning Occupant Crash Protection (49 CFR 571.208) and Side Impact Protection (49 CFR 571.214), September 5, 2002