Seat Belt Laws

Seat belt laws are regulations that require motor vehicle occupants to wear seat belts and mandate the fitting of seat belts in vehicles. These laws are designed to improve road safety by reducing injuries and fatalities in crashes.

There are two main types of enforcement for seat belt laws:

• Primary enforcement laws allow law enforcement officers to stop and cite a driver or passenger solely for not wearing a seat belt, without needing any other traffic violation as a reason. These laws tend to be more effective in increasing seat belt use and reducing injuries and deaths.

• Secondary enforcement laws allow officers to issue a seat belt citation only if the driver has been stopped for another traffic violation first.

As of recent data:

• In the United States, 34 states and the District of Columbia have primary enforcement seat belt laws, while 15 states have secondary enforcement laws. New Hampshire is the only state without a seat belt law for adults.

• Seat belt laws often cover front-seat occupants and, in many states, rear-seat passengers as well. However, some states do not require seat belt use in the rear seats.

• Children are typically covered by separate child restraint laws.

Internationally, seat belt legislation varies but generally requires vehicles to be fitted with seat belts and occupants to wear them. For example, in Australia, seat belt use became compulsory in the 1970s, leading to significant reductions in road deaths.

Overall, seat belt laws have been shown to save thousands of lives by increasing the use of seat belts, which are proven to reduce the severity of injuries in crashes. Primary enforcement laws have a greater impact on compliance and safety outcomes compared to secondary enforcement laws.