A major new rule is being introduced to all US vehicles in a bid to save more lives on the road.
The US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Admission confirmed on Monday that it had finalized the rule based on estimations that it would save 50 lives per year and prevent as many as 500 injuries when fully in effect.
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The new rule will apply to most vehicles, including cars, trucks and buses, except school buses, and multipurpose cars weighing up to 10,000 pounds.
The agency has stressed the importance of continuing to promote and improve seat belt use by means of preventing injury and the majority of fatalities on the road.
So, what actually is 'the rule'?
Well, it involves a loud warning sound that many of us may already be familiar with.
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Seat belt warnings, also called 'reminder systems', are currently legally required for the driver's seat in a car.
The systems use visual and audible alerts to 'remind' the driver to buckle up.
However, the new rule will see the reminder rolled out to other seats in the car, and will see the existing system enhanced when seat belts aren't fastened.
It means passengers sat in the front of most vehicles will encounter the warning alarm if they fail to buckle up their seat belts.
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When will the seatbelt rule come in?
As of September 2027, all new cars in the US will have to follow the new regulations around rear seats.
Meanwhile, car manufacturers must meet this enhanced system and the requirements for all new vehicles from September 2026.
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However, front-center seats will not have a warning because NHTSA determined the additional alert wouldn't be cost-effective.
The order comes as the agency found passengers in the back of cars typically use seat belts at a much lower rate than those sat in the front.
The data shows just 81.7 percent of passengers in the back of vehicles fastened up in 2022, compared to 91.6 percent of passengers in the front.
The agency also revealed almost half of all people who died in car crashes in 2022 weren't wearing their seat belt.
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The new rule is the second significant regulation to come from the agency in the past two months.
In November, NHTSA boosted its five-star safety ratings program to include new advanced driver assistance technologies and a 'crashworthiness' pedestrian protection program.
Passenger cars and light trucks are also ordered to come equipped with automatic braking systems by 2029.
“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.
“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", he added.
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