A NEW safety law is set to change cars forever, with every automaker forced to install a feature in their vehicles.
The federal law will mandate rear passenger seatbelt alerts in all new vehicles.
A new federal law will require all cars to have rear seatbelt alarms[/caption]
The alarms have already been mandated in Europe since 2019[/caption]
From September 1, 2027, every new car and light truck sold in the US will be required to include an additional chime.
Announcing the move on Monday, the Department of Transportation announced that rear seatbelt reminders will be required in the US.
These alarms have been compulsory in Europe since 2019, but the US is only now catching up.
Experts say the alarms are necessary to increase safety for rear-seat passengers.
Seatbelts reduce the risk of fatality for rear-seat passengers by a staggering 55%, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
That figure increases to 74% in reduced fatalities for rear-seat passengers in SUVs.
However, the NHTSA claims that front seatbelt usage was still at 91.6% with rear seatbelt use at only 81.7%, as of 2022.
Traffic deaths spiked in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
Roughly half of all occupant car crash fatalities were not wearing a seatbelt.
The NHTSA claims that the new seatbelt chime for rear-seat passengers could prevent over 500 injuries and save approximately 50 lives per year.
The chime alarm is the same technology that beeps while you are sitting in the driving seat without a seatbelt.
But under the new scheme, this would rolled out to all of the seats.
The idea is to annoy passengers into buckling up.
Carmakers should have until the 2028 model year to comply with the new regulation.
However, it is expected that many companies will roll out the new software before the deadline.
SEAT BELT WARNING SYSTEMS
A NEW federal law will mandate rear seatbelt alarms in all new cars:
- From September 1, 2027, the rear seatbelt warning system will be required on all new vehicles.
- Manufacturers will also have to meet the enhanced front seatbelt warning system requirements on all new vehicles from September 1, 2026.
- The final rule amends Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, “Occupant crash protection,” which previously required a seat belt warning only for the driver’s seat.
- The new requirements apply to passenger cars, trucks, buses with the exception of school buses, and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating up to 10,000 pounds.
- Approximately half of all passenger vehicle occupants who died in crashes in 2022 were unbelted, according to data from the NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
Some people were critical of the legislation.
“Are there provisions in this to address child seats in the rear?” one commenter wrote online.
“Do I have to buckle the factory belt before installing a child seat with the latch points?
“I’m all for safety but this seems like regulation for regulation’s sake,” they added.
Another added, “Ugh, I put stuff in the back seat all the time. This is going to get annoying quick.”
