Car Accident Deaths In The US: New Stats Show The Importance Of Wearing A Seat Belt

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) said Monday in a report that 803 unbelted rear- seat passengers had died in crashes in 2018. The organization said that more than 400 of those people would have survived if they had worn a seat belt.

In 2015, GHSA released another report calling for states to adopt laws that would promote seat belt use for passengers in rear seats. Monday's report claims that only two states — Mississippi and Alabama — have adopted rear seat belt laws since then. There are 30 states, along with Washington, D.C., which have rear-seat belt laws in place.

The GHSA says that rear seat belt use is higher in states that have laws than in those states which have no regulations on the issue. Last year, only 76% rear-seat passengers wore a seat belt.

The report suggests that rear seat belt use is lower in for-hire vehicles, such as Uber or Lyft, than in private automobiles. Lyft and Uber corporate policies do not force drivers to require their passengers to wear a seat belt. The report suggests that these companies should do more to promote seat belt use among passengers.

The report also says that vehicle manufacturers should put rear seat belt reminders in their vehicles. "The goal is clear: All occupants should buckle up, all the time, on every trip," the report says about these suggestions.

There are 6 million car accidents in the U.S. each year, with 90 Americans dying in accidents every day. Every state, along with Washington, D.C., requires passengers in the front-seat to wear a seat belt, with the exception of New Hampshire.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that in 2017 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives.