Dive Brief:
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants automakers to install seat belt use warnings for right-front and rear passengers on vehicles in the U.S. weighing up to 10,000 pounds to encourage greater seat belt use, according to a proposed rule Monday.
- The proposal would require automakers to provide drivers with a visual warning, at vehicle startup, about the rear seat belt status lasting 60 seconds or more.
- It would also mandate automakers install an audio-visual seat belt use warning for right-front passengers, among other requirements.
Dive Insight:
The agency proposed the mandate to reduce the number of people dying in U.S. roadway crashes. Nearly 43,000 people died on U.S. roads in 2021, with half of those in vehicles not wearing seatbelts, NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said in a statement.
“Wearing a seat belt is one of the most effective ways to prevent injury and death in a crash,” Carlson said. “This proposed rule can help reduce that number by getting more to buckle up.”
The agency estimates the proposal would prevent more than 100 fatalities annually. The national use rate for seat belts was 91.6% in 2022, according to NHTSA.
In addition to the abovementioned requirements, NHTSA would ask automakers to install an audio-visual warning lasting 30 seconds or more whenever a rear seat belt is unbuckled while driving.
It would also mandate that audio-visual warnings remain active for the driver and right-front passenger seat until both occupants fasten their seat belts. Similarly, the proposed rule would require automakers to continually warn drivers and right-front passengers to refasten front seat belts unbuckled while driving.
NHTSA said the proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on automakers.
