Seat belt legislation
Template:Short description Seat belt legislation requires the fitting of seat belts to motor vehicles and the wearing of seat belts by motor vehicle occupants to be mandatory. Laws requiring the fitting of seat belts to cars have in some cases been followed by laws mandating their use, with the effect that thousands of deaths on the road have been prevented. Different laws apply in different countries to the wearing of seat belts.
National comparisons
Australia
In Australia, after the introduction of mandatory front outboard mounting points in 1964, the use of seat belts by all vehicle passengers was made compulsory in the states of Victoria and South Australia in 1970 and 1971, respectively.<ref name="driverstech">Template:Cite web</ref> By 1973, the use of fitted seat belts by vehicle occupants was made compulsory for the rest of Australia and some other countries during the 1970s and 1980s. The subsequent dramatic decline in road deaths is generally because of seat belt laws and subsequent road safety campaigns.<ref name=Milne>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>2005 Regulatory Impact Statement - Seat belt legislation amendments Template:Webarchive</ref> Seat belts are not required for bus occupants unless fitted, reversing drivers, and those driving some slow-moving vehicles. The laws for these differ depending on the state or territory with jurisdiction.
Canada
Template:Main All provinces in Canada have primary enforcement seat belt laws. In 1976, Ontario was the first province to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seat belts.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, seat belts must be worn at all times, by all passengers, if they are fitted to a vehicle unless reversing. Passengers may be exempt from wearing a seat belt for various exceptions, such as medical reasons. Since September 18, 2006, children travelling in the UK must also use an appropriate child seat in addition to the standard seat belt, unless they are 12 years old or have reached at least Template:Convert in height, whichever is first.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the UK, a requirement for anchorage points was introduced in 1965, followed by the requirement in 1968 to fit three-point belts in the front outboard positions on all new cars and all existing cars back to 1965.Template:Citation needed Successive UK governments proposed, but failed to deliver, seat belt legislation throughout the 1970s. Front seat belts were compulsory equipment on all new cars registered in the UK from 1968, although it did not become compulsory for them to be worn until 1983. Rear seat belts were compulsory equipment from 1986 and it became compulsory for them to be worn in 1991. However, it has never been a legal requirement for cars registered before those dates to be fitted with seat belts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In one such attempt in 1979 similar claims for potential lives and injuries saved were advanced. William Rodgers, then Secretary of State for Transport in the Callaghan Labour Government (1976–1979), stated: "On the best available evidence of accidents in this country – evidence which has not been seriously contested – compulsion could save up to 1000 lives and 10,000 injuries a year."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
United States
In the United States, seat belt legislation varies by state. The state of Wisconsin introduced legislation in 1961 requiring seat belts to be fitted to the front outboard seat positions of cars.<ref name="stn">Template:Cite web</ref> Seat belts have been mandatory equipment since the 1968 model year per Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208.
New York State passed the first law in the US mandating the use of seat belts in 1984 under the leadership of John D. States, an orthopedic surgeon who dedicated his career to improving automotive safety.<ref>Click it or ticket</ref> Depending on which state a driver is in, not wearing a seat belt in the front seat is either a primary offense or a secondary offense, with the exception of New Hampshire, which does not have a law requiring people over age 18 to wear a seat belt. In the front seat, the driver and each passenger must wear a seat belt, one person per belt. In some states, such as New Hampshire, Michigan, Arkansas, and Missouri, belts in the rear seats are not mandatory for people over the age of 16.
A primary offense means that a police officer can pull a driver over for the seat belt law violation alone, and secondary offense indicates that one can be punished for a seat belt law violation only if they are already pulled over for another reason. By January 2007 25 states and the District of Columbia had primary seat belt laws, 24 had secondary seat belt laws, and New Hampshire had no laws.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some states determine whether to enforce failure to wear a seat belt as a primary or secondary offense depending on whether the unrestrained person is in the front or back of the car. Kansas, Maryland, and New Jersey<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> enforce failure to wear a seat belt as a driver or front-seat passenger as a primary offense and failure to wear a seat belt as a rear seat passenger as a secondary offense. In 2009, Public Health Law Research published several evidence briefs summarizing the research assessing the effect of a specific law or policy on public health. One stated, "Safety belt laws work, but there is strong evidence to support that primary enforcement safety belt laws are more effective than secondary enforcement laws in increasing seat belt use and reducing crash injuries."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Another found that "there is strong evidence that enhanced seat belt enforcement interventions can substantially increase seat belt use and its associated benefits."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
European Union
In the European Union, seat belts were only mandatory in vehicles under 3.5 tonnes until a 2003 directive made them mandatory in all vehicles in 2006. The directive also clarifies that seat belts are to be used for children and makes it mandatory to deactivate airbags for the use of rear-facing child restraints. Some exemptions exist for five members states: Belgium, Denmark, France, Sweden, and Spain.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Developing countries
In many developing countries, pedestrians, cyclists, rickshaw operators and moped users represent the majority of road users.
In India, all cars manufactured after March 25, 1994, are equipped with front seat belts. The rule was extended for rear seats in 2002. The usage of seat belts is to be implemented by the respective states, with most states making seat belt usage for front seat passengers mandatory in 2002. Older vehicles that did not originally have seat belts were exempted. However, enforcement is weak in most parts of the country.
In Indonesia, belts are mandatory only for front seats. Many low-entry car models are not equipped with rear seat belts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In Malaysia, the first stage of safety belt laws was implemented in 1979. This was expanded in January 2009 to include rear passengers. Passenger vehicles registered prior to January 1, 1995, and those weighing more than 3.5 tons are exempted from this rule. The third and fourth stages, which will deal with baby and child seats and the number of passengers in a vehicle, have not taken effect.<ref name="Rear belt safety law">Template:Cite news</ref>
In the Philippines, a seat belt law, Republic Act No. 8750, was approved on August 5, 1999. The law took effect in 2000 and requires all public and private vehicles, except motorcycles and tricycles, to have their front seats equipped with seat belts. Front seats as defined by the law includes the first row of seats behind the driver for public utility buses. Those below the age of six are prohibited to occupy the front seats of motor vehicles even if wearing a seat belt. Jeepneys are only required to have lap belts for the front seat passengers and the driver.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Overview of seat belt legislation by country
The table below gives an overview of when seat belt legislation was first introduced in different countries. It includes both regional and national legislation.
| Country | Compulsory wearing | Compulsory fitting | Source | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cars | Bus passengers | Cars | Buses
Trucks | |||||
| Driver | Front passengers | Rear passengers | ||||||
| Template:Flag | 1994 | 1994 | 1994 (First row only, all in school buses) | <ref>Template:In lang National Law Nº26,687 - Article 30 A, Article 40 K and Article 55</ref> | ||||
| Template:Flag | 1970 (Victoria), 1971 (SA, NSW), 1972 (national), 1986 (child restraints) | 1969, 1970 (back seat, Victoria) 1971 (back seat) | 1983 (≤3.5 tonnes) | <ref name="cdc.gov">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||||
| Template:Flag | 1993 | 1993 | 2014 | 1993 (Front Seat)
2004 (Rear Seats) |
||||
| Template:Flag | 1976 (Ontario, then Quebec) | |||||||
| Template:Flag | 1966 (outside cities) 1990 (all) |
1976 1990 |
2004 | 1968 | <ref>http://aplikace.mvcr.cz/archiv2008/sbirka/1966/sb35-66.pdfTemplate:Dead link</ref> | |||
| Template:Flag | 1993/1991<ref>Council Directive 91/671/EEC of 16 December 1991 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of less than 3,5 tonnes</ref> | 2006<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
|}}{{#if:Directive 2003/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the council of 8 April 2003 amending Council Directive 91/671/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of less than 3,5 tonnes|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries | |||||
| Template:Flag | 1975, 1982 fines given | 1975 over 15 years old passenger, 1982 all and fines given | 1987, 1994 taxi passengers | 2006 | 1971 (front seat) 1981 (back seat) | |||
| Template:Flag | 1973 (outside cities), 1975 (cities at night), 1979 (all) | 1990 | 2003 | 1967, 1978 (back seat) | 2003 | <ref name="stnonline.com"/>
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Template:Flag | 1976 | 1984 | 1999 | 1970, 1979 (back seat) | 1999 | Angurtpflicht | ||
| Template:Flag | 1976 | 1993 | <ref name="cdc.gov"/> | |||||
| Template:Flag | 1983 | 1983 | 1996 (private cars)
2001 (taxis) |
2004 (minibuses) | 1996 (back seat) | 2004 (minibuses); July 2018 (franchised buses) |
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Template:Flag | 1999 | 2019 | 2024† | 1994 (front seats), 2002 (rear seats) | ||||
| Template:Flag | 1979 | 1992 | 1971 (front seats), 1992 (rear seats) | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||||
| Template:Flag | 1973 | 1990 | 2006‡ | 1967 (front seats); 1983 (back seats) | 2006 | <ref>דבר, 11 יוני 1975</ref><ref>מעריב, 14 מרץ 1984 — חגורות הוחק</ref> | ||
| Template:Flag | 1989 | 1990 (where available) | 2006‡ | 1988 (new vehicles); 1989 (all*, front seats); 1990 (new vehicles, back seats); 2000 (all*, back seats) | 2006 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Template:Flag | 1971† (1985) | 1971 (no fines), 1985 (fines on freeway), 1993 (all) | 2008 | 2008 | 1969 | <ref name="stnonline.com"/> | ||
| Template:Flag | 2017 | 2017 | 2017 | 2016 (motorway buses enforced) | ||||
| Template:Flag | 1976 | 1992 | 1975 (front) 1990 (rear) | |||||
| Template:Flag | 1972 | 1972 (15 years and over), 1979 (8 years and over) | 1989♣ | 1972 (vehicles registered after 1965), 1975 (after 1955) | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| Template:Flag | 2000 (those below 6 years prohibited to occupy front seats) | 2000 (first row beside the driver's seat only) | 2000 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||||
| Template:Flag | 1993 | 2010 | <ref>"Кодекс Российской Федерации об административных правонарушениях" от 30.12.2001 N 195-ФЗ</ref><ref>Постановление Правительства РФ от 23.10.1993 N 1090 (ред. от 24.10.2022) "О Правилах дорожного движения" (вместе с "Основными положениями по допуску транспортных средств к эксплуатации и обязанности должностных лиц по обеспечению безопасности...</ref><ref>ПДД РФ, ОСНОВНЫЕ ПОЛОЖЕНИЯ</ref> | |||||
| Template:Flag | 1973 | 1973 | 1993 | 2008 (small buses) | 1973 | |||
| Template:Flag | 1975 | 1975 | 1992<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||||
| Template:Flag | 2011 | 2011 | ||||||
| Template:Flag | 1975 | 1986 | 1999 | 1970 | 2004 (except for city buses) | <ref name="stnonline.com"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Template:Flag | 1981 | 1994 | 1971 | 1998 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| Template:Flag | 1996 | 2009 | ||||||
| Template:Flag | 1983 | 1991 | 2006 | 1967 (front) 1987 (rear) | 2001 (except buses designed for urban use with standing passengers) | <ref>http://www.rospa.com/about/history/seatbelt-history.aspx Template:Webarchive RoSPA</ref> | ||
| Template:Flag | 1984 (New York; seat belt use law is jurisdiction of individual states) | Wisconsin, 1961. Federally, front lap 1965 model year; front shoulder & rear lap 1968; 3-point front 1974 | <ref name="stnonline.com"/> | |||||
| Template:Flag | 1993 (Introduced by section 130 (1) of Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 1993) | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||||||
* - actually only vehicles registered after 15 June 1976; in previous registered vehicles fitting is optional
† - required by the law, but no penalty for violation at the time
‡ - required by the law, but low enforcement
♣ - definitely introduced by this date, possibly earlier
Effects
Studies by road safety authorities conclude that seat belt legislation has reduced the number of casualties in road accidents.
Experiments using both crash test dummies and human cadavers also indicated that wearing seat belts should lead to reduced risk of death and injury in car crashes.
Studies of accident outcomes suggest that fatality rates among car occupants are reduced by between 30 and 50 percent if seat belts are worn. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that death risks for a driver wearing a lap-shoulder seat belt are reduced by 48 percent. The same study indicated that in 2007, an estimated 15,147 lives were saved by seat belts in the United States and that if seat belt use were increased to 100 percent, an additional 5024 lives would have been saved.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
An earlier statistical analysis by the NHTSA claimed that seat belts save over 10,000 lives every year in the US.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
According to a more recent fact sheet produced by the NHTSA:
- "In 2012, seat belts saved an estimated 12,174 lives among passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older. [...] Research has found that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45% and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50%. [...] Research on the effectiveness of child safety seats has found them to reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants (younger than 1 year old) and by 54% for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars." <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
By 2009, despite large increases in population and the number of vehicles, road deaths in Victoria had fallen below 300, less than a third of the 1970 level, the lowest since records were kept, and far below the per capita rate in jurisdictions such as the United States. This reduction was generally attributed to aggressive road safety campaigns beginning with the seat belt laws.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A 2008 study in the Journal of Health Economics found that mandatory seat belt laws in the U.S. "significantly increased seatbelt use among high school age youths by 45-80%" and "significantly reduced traffic fatalities and serious injuries resulting from fatal crashes by 8 and 9%, respectively."<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> The authors note that these "results suggest that if all states had primary enforcement seatbelt laws then regular youth seatbelt use would be nearly universal and youth fatalities would fall by about 120 per year."<ref name=":0" />
Regulations
Unece has some regulations on seat belt.
| Entry into force | Regulation number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 01/04/1970 | 14 | safety-belt anchorages |
| 01/12/1970 | 16 |
|
| 01/02/1981 | 44 | restraining devices for child occupants of power-driven vehicles ("Child Restraint Systems") |
| 09/07/2013 | 129 | Enhanced Child Restraint Systems (ECRS) |
| 09/06/2016 | 137 | passenger cars in the event of a frontal collision with focus on the restraint system |
Opposition
A number of groups and individuals are opposed to seat belt legislation. The most common grounds for opposition are:
- The view that laws requiring the wearing of seat belts are an infringement of individual liberty.
- Claims that official estimates of the number of lives saved by seat belts are overstated or fail to take into account additional risks for other road users.
Risk compensation and other theories
The most common basis for disputing estimates of the benefits of seat belts is risk compensation and risk homeostasis, advanced by researchers John Adams and Gerald Wilde. The idea of this theory is that, if the risk of death or injury from a car crash is reduced by the wearing of seat belts, drivers will respond by reducing the precautions they take against crashes. Adams accepts the hypothesis that wearing seat belts improves a vehicle occupant's chances of surviving a crash.<ref>Template:Cite web (primary source)</ref> In order to explain the disparity between the agreed improvement in crash survival and the observed results, Adams and Wilde argue that protecting someone from the consequences of risky behaviour may tend to encourage greater risk taking. Wilde states, "to compel a person to use protection from the consequences of hazardous driving, as seat belt laws do, is to encourage hazardous driving. A fine for non-compliance will encourage seat belt use, but the fact that the law fails to increase people's desire to be safe encourages compensatory behaviour."<ref name=WildeGS1994>Template:Cite book</ref>
Studies and experiments have been carried out to examine the risk compensation theory. In one experiment subjects were asked to drive go-karts around a track under various conditions. It was found that subjects who started driving belted did not drive any slower when subsequently unbelted, but those who started driving unbelted did drive consistently faster when subsequently belted.<ref name="StreffGeller">Template:Cite journal</ref> A study of habitual non-seat belt wearers driving in freeway conditions found evidence that they had adapted to seat belt use by adopting higher driving speeds and closer following distances.<ref name="janssen1"> Template:Cite journal</ref> In another study, taxi drivers who were habitual non-wearers were timed over a route with passengers who did, and others who did not, insist on the driver wearing a belt. They completed the route faster when belted.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In addition to risk compensation, Adams has suggested other mechanisms that may lead to inaccurate or unsupportable predictions of positive benefits from seat belt legislation.
- Case-control studies based on voluntary use of safety aids can attribute to the aid benefits that actually come from the risk-averse nature of those likely to use them voluntarily (confounding), particularly early adopters.
- Fatality rates are subject to considerable stochastic noise, and comparison of single years or short periods can be misleading.
However, after introduction of seat belt laws in many European and American countries, safety agencies did not validate the compensation theory:
A 2007 study based on data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that between 1985 and 2002 there were "significant reductions in fatality rates for occupants and motorcyclists after the implementation of belt use laws", and that "seatbelt use rate is significantly related to lower fatality rates for the total, pedestrian, and all non-occupant models even when controlling for the presence of other state traffic safety policies and a variety of demographic factors".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A comprehensive 2003 US study also did "not find any evidence that higher seat belt usage has a significant effect on driving behavior." Their results showed that "overall, mandatory seat belt laws unambiguously reduce traffic fatalities."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Individual liberty
Opponents have objected to the laws on libertarian principles.<ref name="Jeff Jacoby">Template:Cite news</ref> Some do so on the grounds that seat belt laws infringe on their civil liberties. For example, in a 1986 letter to the editor of the New York Times, a writer argued that seat belt legislation was "coercive" and that "a mandatory-seat-belt law violates the right to bodily privacy and self-control".<ref name="David Solan">Template:Cite news</ref>
Side-effects of seat belts
Neck injuries can be caused by the deceleration from a high speed. The passenger’s head continues to move forward while the body is restrained, potentially causing paralyzing injuries. A study of such injuries notes, "Seatbelts save lives. However, they may cause injury to adjacent structures and when they malfunction can cause injury to the abdominal viscera, bony skeleton and vascular structures. The motor industry has attempted to reduce these injuries by modification of vehicle design and safety equipment."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Airbag and cost
In 1985, some manufacturers believed mandatory cheaper seat belts could stop airbag development, according to The New York Times.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
Notes
References and further reading
- Template:Cite book
- Wilde G.S. Target Risk PDE Publications, 1994
- The Isles report "Seat belt savings: Implications of European Statistics", UK DoT, 1981, Sourced from Death on the Streets, Cars and the Mythology of Road Safety by Robert Davis, Leading Edge Press, North Yorkshire UK, 1992 and "Report questions whether seat belts save lives" by M. Hamer, New Scientist, 7 February 1985 p7
- Evaluation of Automobile Safety Regulations: The case of Compulsory Seat Belt Legislation in Australia. by J.A.C. Coneybeare, Policy Sciences 12:27-39, 1980
- Compulsory Seat Belt Use: Further Inferences, by P. Hurst Accident Analysis and Prevention., Vol 11: 27–33, 1979
- Wilde G. S. Risk Homeostasis and Traffic Accidents Propositions, Deductions and Discussion of Dissension in Recent Reactions, Ergonomics 1988 Vol, 31, 4:439
- Methodological Issues in Testing the Hypothesis of Risk Compensation by Brian Dulisse, Accident Analysis and Prevention Vol. 25 (5): 285–292, 1997
- RS 255 The initial impact of seat belt legislation in Ireland by R. Hearne, An Foras Forbatha, Dublin, 1981
- The efficacy of seat belt legislation: A comparative study of road accident fatality statistics from 18 countries, by J. Adams. Department of Geography University College, London 1981
- Casualty Reductions, Whose Problem? By F. West-Oram, Traffic Engineering and Control, September 1990
- The Puzzle of Seat Belts Explained, Press Release of the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society, April 1999
- Reconsidering the effects of seat belt Laws and Their Enforcement Status by T.S. Dee Accident Analysis and Prevention., Vol 30(1): 1–10, 1998