NHTSA Says New Seat Belt Warning Rules Could Prevent Hundreds of Injuries Each Year

Federal traffic safety regulators have implemented a new rule mandating seat belt warning systems for backseat passengers, alongside enhanced alerts for front-seat occupants, as part of an ongoing effort to boost seat belt usage.

A seat belt warning system, also known as a seat belt reminder system, employs visual and audible signals to prompt vehicle occupants to wear their seat belts. Under the existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, titled “Occupant Crash Protection,” these warnings are only mandated for the driver’s seat.

However, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced an updated seat belt warning rule in a press release last month, requiring all new vehicles to include seat belt warning systems for both driver and front passenger seats by September 1, 2026. Additionally, starting September 1, 2027, seat belt warnings will also be mandatory for backseat passengers.

NHTSA projects that the new warning systems could prevent more than 500 injuries and save up to 50 lives each year.

The final rule (PDF) is an amendment to the existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and completes the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which was passed by the Obama administration in 2012.

Among other initiatives, MAP-21 directed federal regulators to require seat belt warnings for backseat passengers as part of the law’s mandate to heighten vehicle and passenger safety standards.

According to data from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, nearly half of all vehicle passengers who died in crashes in 2022 were not wearing seat belts.

In addition, use of seat belts for backseat passengers remains consistently lower than that of front seat passengers. Although the use of seat belts among front seat passengers was at about 92% in 2022, only about 82% of back seat passengers used seat belts that year.

“Wearing a seat belt is one of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent injury and death in a vehicle crash,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Adam Raviv said in the press release. “While seat belt use has improved for decades, there’s still more we can do to make sure everyone buckles up. These new requirements will help to increase seat belt use, especially for rear seat passengers, by enhancing reminders for vehicle occupants to buckle up.”

NHTSA’s new seat belt warning rules join a host of other initiatives the agency has launched in recent years to support its National Roadway Safety Strategy, which was launched in 2022, with the goal of providing a roadmap to achieving zero fatalities on U.S. roads.

Other initiatives of the Strategy include requirements for all passenger cars and light trucks to be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems, and updating the agency’s vehicle safety ratings system to include driver assistance technologies.