As of November 1, 2020, it is now a legal requirement in New York City for all passengers to wear a seat belt while riding or driving a car.
In August, Governor Andrew Cuomo passed a law requiring passengers over the age of 16 to wear a seat belt when riding in the back seat. You may have thought this was already the legal requirement; however, prior to this new legislation, backseat passengers over the age of 16 were not required to wear a seat belt, although all front-seat passengers and passengers under 16 were.
“We have known for decades that seat belts save lives and with this action, we are further strengthening our laws and helping to prevent unnecessary tragedies,” Cuomo said in a statement.
In 1984, under Governor Mario Cuomo, New York became the first state to pass a mandatory seat belt law. In that same year, according to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, approximately 16% of people used seat belts. In 2008, 24 years after the law was enacted, the compliance rate was as high as 89%.
Proven Safety Benefits of Seat Belts
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts not only reduce the severity of injuries, but they also help prevent crash-related fatalities by nearly half.
The seat belt is the best defense against potential injuries that can be sustained during a crash; being completely ejected from the car has a much higher fatality rate than when you stay strapped in.
The seat belt is a harness designed to restrain the occupant of the vehicle in the event of a collision and keep them in their seat. It was first used in planes in the 1930s, and a few years later it also began to be used in cars, to the point that in most countries today it is mandatory to use it.
It is one of the most effective security elements and prevents the passenger from hitting elements inside the car. The most effective belts are the ones with the most anchor points. It may even be necessary to provide complementary devices in addition to the seat belt (however, this is not currently a legal requirement). Some optional safety devices that can be used in conjunction with a seat belt include:
- Front seat belt pretensioners.
- Chest effort limiters.
- Front airbags for driver and passenger.
How Seat Belts Stop Fatalities
Simply put, seat belts stop fatalities.
Suppose the car stops abruptly when it crashes against an unexpected obstacle. According to physics, the bodies of the vehicle’s occupants will continue to move forward at the speed that the car had until that moment, propelled by an enormous force, equivalent to about 40 times the weight of each person (depending on the speed the car was traveling at).
If not secured, they will hit the dash of the car and the windshield. And the rear seat occupants, if any, will be propelled, with that same force, to the front, where they will often hit the front windshield. Eventually, they can be thrown out of the car, increasing the chances of dying by six times.
If you are involved in an accident when you are not wearing a seat belt and try to claim compensation, your claim may be directly affected and even denied. A New York personal injury lawyer can help you determine your options and argument for your case, but your most foolproof protection for preventing your own liability and increasing your compensation for injuries is to always wear a seat belt.
These new rules adopted in New York City will be heavily enforced. The sanction for breaking the law will be applied after a car is stopped, and it will be only the offending passenger who receives a fine of up to $50. This means that the guideline exempt other occupants who are wearing their seat belts as legally required.