A new national survey finds that, while they properly restrain their children, many adults mistakenly believe they are safe riding in the back seat without buckling up. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that among adults who admit to not always using belts in the back, four out of five surveyed say they don’t bother on short trips, or when traveling by taxi or Uber.
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In the 1960s and 1970s, before Americans got into the habit of buckling up, the back seat was the safest place to sit, and the center rear seat was the safest of all. But in recent decades, high levels of restraint use and the advent of belt crash tensioners, airbags, and improved designs have narrowed the safety advantages of riding in the rear seat.
“For most adults, it’s still as safe to ride in the back seat as the front seat, but not if you aren’t buckled up,” said IIHS study co-author Jessica Jermakian. While driver and front passenger belt use has been extensively studied, there is not much research on why rear-seat passengers fail to buckle up. This study fills that gap, the IIHS says.
Although safety belts are proven to save lives, more than half of those who die in passenger vehicle crashes in the United States each year are unbuckled. Says Jermakian, “In the rear seat, a lap/shoulder belt is the primary means of protection in a frontal crash. Without it, bodies can hit hard surfaces or other people at full speed, leading to serious injuries.” Also, the institute notes, one person’s decision not to buckle up can have consequences for others riding with them.
IIHS has found that driver belt use is higher, and fatality rates lower, in vehicles with enhanced belt reminders than in vehicles without them. Few vehicles have these for back seat passengers. Except for New Hampshire, all U.S. states and the District of Columbia require adults in the front seat to use belts. Rear-seat passengers are covered by laws in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Safety belts are said to have saved 13,941 lives in 2015.