I can’t imagine I’m penning this within the 12 months 2024, however in case y’all forgot, seat belts save lives. It’s fairly black and white: Over half of all car occupant fatalities in 2022 had been individuals who weren’t carrying a seat belt. It merely boggles my thoughts every time I see of us driving or driving in a automobile with out carrying their seat belt, it’s like taking part in Russian roulette however in a a lot much less badass approach. Hoping to make a optimistic influence, the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) finalized a brand new rule that requires all new automobiles to be geared up with rear seat belt warnings and stricter entrance seat warning necessities. The brand new legislation goes into impact on September 1, 2026.
As with all authorities course of, this contains quite a lot of legalese, so I’ll do my greatest to make it fascinating and simply consumable. Presently, all automobiles are required to show a visible seat belt reminder that’s a minimum of 60 seconds lengthy, and an audible part that should be a minimum of 4 seconds lengthy. There isn’t any authorized requirement presently in place requiring automakers to observe another seat, although many automakers have included visible and audible warnings for the passenger seat and for the rear seats, too.
The brand new rule requires automobiles to observe the rear seats for occupants and supply a visible warning on startup to tell the driving force of the standing of the rear seat belts, which beforehand had no federal requirement. It additionally requires an audio-visual warning every time a rear seat occupant unbuckles their seat belt whereas the car is in a ahead or reverse gear, and that warning should final for a minimum of 30 seconds, or till the belt is re-fastened.
For entrance seat occupants, it’s now federally mandated that each the driving force and passenger seat monitor belt use. Now, each driver and passenger seats should be geared up with a seat belt warning system, although middle seats should not required to be monitored. Driver’s seats should now be geared up with longer period warnings, together with visible warning that activates when a car is began and stays on till the seat belt is buckled. It’s also now required to have a two-phase audible warning that lasts for a minimum of 30 seconds until the belt is fixed earlier than then, and the second section should activate and stay energetic every time the seat is occupied and the seat belt will not be in use.
Automakers are required to adjust to these laws on or earlier than September 1, 2026, so there may be loads of time for them to implement the required methods. NHTSA anticipates these laws to save lots of round 50 lives yearly, and stop practically 400 different accidents yearly. In order a reminder, please simply put on your seat belt.