Seatbelt Usage Lags in Rear Seats

Seven in 10 (72%) adults in the U.S. say they always wear a seatbelt when riding in the rear seat of a vehicle vs. 91% who do so in the front seat, according to a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).    

The results are in line with a 2015 nationwide observation study, which found a 75% usage rate among adult rear-seat occupants and 89% for drivers and front-seat passengers. Prior IIHS surveys have asked adults about seatbelt usage in general without distinguishing between front and rear seat habits.

Seatbelt usage dropped considerably for taxis and ride-hailing services. Less than three in five adults reported always wearing their seatbelt when sitting in the rear of a hired vehicle compared with 74% of passengers in personal vehicles.

Adults aged 35 to 54 were the least likely (66%) to buckle up in the back seat among those surveyed. This compares with 76% of people 55 and older and 73% of 18 to 34-year-olds. Women were more likely than men to report always using a belt in the rear seat, and adults who had attended college were more likely to buckle up than adults with less education.

When asked why they don't buckle up, a quarter of respondents in the group who reported buckling up less often in the rear of a vehicle believed the rear seat is safer than the front. IIHS says this perception is inaccurate, especially in vehicles without rear seat airbags, and notes that unbuckled occupants can ram into hard surfaces and restrained front and rear seat passengers at high speeds.  

Other reasons cited for not wearing a seatbelt in the rear of a vehicle included lack of habit/forgot about it (13%), uncomfortable (12%), difficult to use/find (10%) and law doesn’t require it (9%). Most respondents indicated they would be more prone to wear rear seatbelts if the devices were softer and had adjustable shoulder straps.

Nearly two-thirds of part-time belt users and nonusers said audible rear-seat belt reminders would make them more likely to buckle up. In 2015, only 3% of vehicle models sold in the U.S. had such systems for rear seat occupants.

More than half of the people who die in passenger vehicle crashes in the U.S. each year are unbelted, IIHS notes. All states except New Hampshire require adults in the front seat to wear seatbelts. Rear-seat passengers are covered by laws in 29 states and Washington, D.C.