Why Did Wearing a Seatbelt Become a Law

„The situation is even worse for pregnant women. Although a pregnant crash test dummy was developed in 1996, testing is not required by the state in the US or EU. Although car accidents are the most common cause of fetal death associated with maternal trauma, we have not yet developed a seat belt that works for pregnant women. Research from 2004 suggests that pregnant women should use the standard seat belt; but 62% of pregnant women in the third trimester do not fit this design,“ says Caroline Criado Perez in her book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. Some seat belt laws have changed over time with respect to the age of passengers or the use of child seats. In addition, many states have made their original seat belt laws more powerful by making non-seat belt use a major offense. This means that a police officer can stop and fine a driver if an occupant is not wearing a seat belt. In other states, seat belt violations can only be fined if the vehicle has been stopped for another predicate traffic offence. In 15 of the 50 states, seat belt law is considered a secondary offense, meaning a police officer can`t stop a driver and issue a ticket for the seat belt failure offense alone. (One exception is Colorado, where children who are not properly detained are a predicate offense and are subject to a much higher fine.) If a driver commits a main violation (e.B. for speeding), he can also be charged with not wearing a seat belt.

In most states, seat belt law was originally a secondary offence; In many, it was later changed to a primary offense: California was the first state to make this change, in 1993. Of the 30 states with primary seat belt laws, all except California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington originally had only secondary law enforcement laws. However, seat belt use only became mandatory when each U.S. state introduced its own seat belt laws. In 1984, New York became the first state to require drivers to use a seat belt. Over the next eleven years, 48 more states passed seat belt laws. New Hampshire remains the only U.S. state without a seat belt law for drivers. Many pregnant women fear that a car accident will harm them. This is a concern that every pregnant woman should take into account before getting into a car. Many doctors and experts claim that a baby is absolutely safe if a pregnant woman wears her seat belt „correctly“.

However, there are some situations that contradict this statement and still take risks even if everything is done „correctly“. Seat belt laws are effective in reducing the number of deaths in car accidents. [21] One study found that mandatory buckling laws reduced road fatalities by 8% and serious traffic accidents by 9%. [22] Primary seat belt laws appear to be more effective than secondary laws in reducing the number of fatalities in accidents. [23] [24] Most seat belt laws in the United States are left to the states and territories. However, the first seat belt law was a federal law, Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Safety Standard, which came into effect on January 1, 1968, requiring that all vehicles (except buses) be equipped with seat belts in all designated seating positions. [1] This law has since been amended to require three-point seat belts in outdoor positions and finally three-point seat belts in all seated positions. [2] Initially, seat belt use was voluntary. New York was the first state to pass a law requiring vehicle occupants to wear seat belts, a law that went into effect on December 1, 1984.

New Hampshire is the only state that does not have enforceable laws for wearing seat belts in a vehicle. [3] A person involved in a car accident who did not fasten their seat belt can be held liable for much greater damage than if they had worn a seat belt. However, when going to court, most states protect motorists from reducing their damages in a lawsuit due to not wearing a seat belt, even if they have violated the law by not wearing the seat belt. Currently, damage for non-use of a seat belt can be reduced in 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida (see F.S.A. 316.614 (10)), Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, West Virginia and Wisconsin. [20] „At the end of the day, we had both airbags and mandatory seat belt laws,“ Mashaw explains. „There was still a lot of resistance from people who thought it was a terrible violation of their freedom. People were selling t-shirts that made it look like you were wearing a seat belt. I am not surprised by the fact that at the time when seat belts were prescribed, women were not well protected like men. Those of us who were familiar with belt systems in racing cars clearly saw the problem as did many others. Automakers have resisted the obligation to provide more appropriate seat belts for women for cost reasons, which could likely be „passed on“ to the consumer. I would be interested in research on this topic, let alone my wife.

L. Beck and West, 2011, used data from the 2008 Nationally Representative Behavioural Risk Factors Surveillance System (FSRO) survey to compare seat belt use. They found that 88.2 percent of adults living in states where seat belt laws are primarily enforced reported always wearing a seat belt, compared to 79.2 percent in states with secondary laws. Differences in seat belt use existed in some socio-demographic categories, but use rates were higher for each group in states where seat belt laws were primarily enforced. Regardless of your gender, driving without a seat belt is dangerous. Studies conducted in states that have changed their law from secondary to primary show that belt use has increased among a wide range of drivers and passengers. In some states, belt use for low belt use groups, including Hispanics, African Americans, and alcohol drivers, increased more than for all inmates (Shults et al., 2004). (UNC ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH CENTRE, 2011, p.

1). 2-14) I do not know of any husband who would accept the thesis that their wives do not deserve adequate protection. „As of July 2010, 31 states and the District of Columbia had primary belt use laws, 18 states had secondary enforcement laws, and New Hampshire had no Adult Belt Use Act (IIHS, [undated])“ (UNC Highway Safety Research Center, 2011, pp. 2-13). Seat belt laws vary depending on whether they cover only front seat occupants or also include rear seat occupants. In some states, seat belt use is a secondary law for drivers and passengers over a certain age (varies by state), but a primary law for younger passengers. Guest article: Jennifer L. Donaldson is the founder of Jennifer L. Donaldson`s law firm. She has over three decades of litigation experience. It protects Denver residents who are injured in accidents. Jennifer personally understands the importance of making sure children get to and from school safely because she has two sons.

Additions by Amie Durocher of Safe Ride 4 Kids. We must ask ourselves whether seat belts effectively protect both men and women. The reality is that women wear seat belts: As of August 2020, New Hampshire was the only state without a mandatory adult seat belt law, a product of its libertarian „live free or die“ tendency. As a result, seat belt use in New Hampshire has stagnated at 70 percent, compared to more than 90 percent nationally. There were no regulations for seat belt performance in the United States until the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 created what is now the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA). The first seat belt law – Federal Law Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety Standard – came into force in 1968. The law required manufacturers to install seat belts in vehicles. New York was the first state to pass mandatory seat belt law, followed by New Jersey. In New York, failure to wear seat belts resulted in a $50 fine, which was not a minor change in 1985.

Officials said that thanks to the law, seat belt compliance in New York had risen to 70 percent in less than a year, but that didn`t mean everyone loved it. As one Bronx resident grumbled, „It`s not supposed to be Russia, where the government tells you what to do and when to do it. But before any of these changes could be made, Ronald Reagan won the presidency on the promise of deregulation, especially the auto industry. One of the first things the Reagan administration did was repeal the NHTSA rule, which required passive restrictions. The insurance companies sued the administration and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. In a surprising decision, the judges voted unanimously to block the Reagan administration and enforce the NHTSA rule. Thirty-four states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States.