More states requiring rear-seat passengers to buckle up

Usually when you hop in a car with a bunch of friends and say “buckle-up,” the rear seat passengers probably choose to ignore it or know that it isn’t legally required for rear seat passengers in their state to wear a seat belt.

Well, all that’s about to change because states are moving to close that loophole in the seat belt law that allows rear-seat adult passengers in half of the states to ride around without buckling up, legally.

A total of six states including Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and Texas have expanded their buckle up law to rear-seat passengers since 2007. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that 25 states and the District of Columbia require seat belts for all passengers in a vehicle.

“The most important thing you can do in any vehicle at any time is wear your seat belt in all seating positions,” says Michele Fields, general counsel at the Insurance Institute. “The gaps with regard to children younger than 16 have almost all been closed, but there are still gaps for adults.”

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: USAToday