Washington state has one of the highest seat belt compliance rates in the nation. Already, 97.6% of Washington motorists and their passengers are using seat belts. Seat belts go a long way in preventing serious injury and death in a motor vehicle accident.
Most new cars sold in the U.S. are equipped with enhanced seat belt reminders and these reminders have gone a long way in changing behaviors. Seat belt reminders in the form of chimes or bells are hard to ignore. In 2012, 91% of vehicle sold were equipped with driver reminder systems and 77% had front seat passenger reminder systems
In Europe, seat belt reminders are even more persistent and last longer than in the U.S. Some vehicles also provide visual clues in the form of flashing lights as well as persistent chimes that consistently go off the first three minutes of any car trip. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is considering adopting European-like rules for seat belt reminders to increase seat belt use here in the U.S.
What about rear seat reminders?
Every year approximately 1,000 children ages 12 and younger are killed in motor vehicle accidents and more than 100,000 are injured. In fact, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in children between the ages of 3 and 14. By using appropriately fitted child safety seats, booster seats and utilizing seat belts, the risk of injury or death in an auto accident is greatly decreased.
Currently, only about 3% of new cars sold in the U.S. are equipped with rear seat belt reminders. When polled, 75% of drivers said they would be in favor of rules requiring the seat belt reminders in the rear seat as well.
In a survey of drivers who drive children young children -- between eight and fifteen years of age -- 82% said they would like their vehicle to be equipped with a rear seat belt reminder. Sometimes children don't buckle up or they unfasten their buckle and a warning system would alert parents so they can enforce buckling up.