seat belt reminders

Published on: January 25, 2024

The Impact of Automated Enforcement on Minimizing Car Accidents

The use of automated enforcement like red light camera systems can be a sensitive and touchy subject for most Atlanteans, but as federal administration officials focus harder on preventing auto accident wrongful deaths and serious personal injuries, the presence of such systems on American roads is only likely to increase.

A recent report by the Governors Highway Safety Association and State Farm focused on the various types of automated enforcement systems that are currently in place on American roads, effectiveness of these systems and the sensitivities involved in the implementation of these systems. The most common automated enforcement technologies currently on our roads include red light camera systems, speed camera systems and school bus stop arm camera systems. Some jurisdictions have also begun preliminary experimentation with cameras to identify when people are driving without seatbelts and when motorists are using cell phones while driving.

The need for automotive enforcement, especially speed camera systems, has become even more dire over the past few years as speeding rates across the country have skyrocketed. The number of people being killed in car accidents directly related to speeding has also increased. Law enforcement departments across the country have been struggling with reduced staffing, and that has meant departments looking more and more towards the use of automation to help with enforcement.

Published on: September 15, 2023

Feds Propose Seatbelt Warning System for Rear Seat Passengers

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The federal administration is proposing a new seatbelt warning system that would apply to occupants of the back seat as well as the front seat passenger. It is a move that could significantly help reduce the number of people killed in car accidents on America’s roads every year. It is important to keep in mind that persons in the rear seats are injured in car accidents, especially in rear-end accidents and T-bone accidents.

In 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Acting Administrator, approximately 43,000 people were killed in car accidents and approximately 50% of them were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the auto accident. Their chances of surviving the crash could have significantly improved had they been buckled in. Unfortunately, the current law only requires seat belt reminder systems for drivers, but has no such requirements for front seat passengers as well as occupants of the rear seat of the car. These people are also at a very high risk of suffering fatal injuries in the event of an auto accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently issued a Proposed Rule which requires motor vehicles weighing up to 10,000 pounds to have seatbelt reminder systems for all passengers in the car, including front seat and backseat passengers. The requirement would require a visual alert that would go on for approximately 60 seconds and would alert the driver to the status of rear seatbelt usage. It would also require an audible alert that would alert the driver when a backseat passenger removes the seat belt while the vehicle is in operation. The rule would also require an audio visual alert system for the right front seat passenger to buckle his seatbelt. Auto manufacturers would have the flexibility to decide how frequently and how loud the audible reminder system should be.

Published on: October 19, 2022

Seat Belt Reminders Work, but only When Audible Signal is Long Lasting

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Laws requiring drivers and passengers to wear seat belts have been around for decades. This is beYour car’s seat belts are the front line defense in protecting you from injury if you are a victim of a car accident. Seat belt reminders that emit an audible alert when a driver is not buckled up are useful tools that can help increase seat belt usage rates and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in auto accidents every year. A new study, however, shows that many seat belt reminders are not that effective. Auto manufacturers must be made aware of how beneficial this tool can be.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has developed a new rating program that aims to encourage car manufacturers to improve their seat belt reminder technologies. According to federal standards, a seat belt reminder system should emit an audible signal that lasts for a minimum of 4 to 6 seconds. In the case of a visual signal, the alert must continue for a period of at least 60 seconds. However, the Insurance Institute for Highway safety has conducted earlier research that indicates that alerts that continue for much longer can be more effective in encouraging motorists to buckle up before they begin driving. In fact, the research found that seat belt usage increases by as much as 34% when audible alerts last much longer than just 4 to 6 seconds. The research indicates that increased seatbelt usage can save as many as 1,500 lives in auto accidents every year.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, audible signals must not only be long-lasting, but must also be loud enough to allow the motorist to hear the signal. Some of the systems that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety studied as part of its research, had alerts that were barely audible above the cabin noise and other vehicle noise. In others, there was a 25 -second gap between intermittent audible signals, and this could be too long a gap to prove effective in encouraging a motorist to buckle up.

Published on: August 23, 2012

Seatbelt Reminders for Back Seats Could Help Reduce Injuries, Fatalities

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

If a proposal by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to mandate seatbelt alerts for rear seat passengers is approved and goes into effect, it could mean a much lower risk of injuries to passengers in the back seat.

Rear seat passengers have much lower rates of seatbelt usage compared to drivers and front seat passengers.Nationally, only 74% of backseat passengers buckle up all the time, compared to seat belt usage rates of 83% for front seat passengers. Our Atlanta car accident attorneys agree that higher rear seatbelt usage would help prevent some of the most serious injuries.

The proposal would require that alerts and warnings that are currently in place for motorists and front seat passengers who have not yet buckled up after the car has been put into operation, are also included for rear seat belt passengers.The typically include a chime or beep that continues to sound until the seatbelt it engaged.

Published on: June 13, 2010

Preventing Injuries — Seatbelt Reminder for Georgia’s Pickup Truck Drivers

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Last week Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a new bill requiring all pickup truck drivers in Georgia to wear seatbelts while driving their trucks. The bill takes direct aim at persons who die and are injured in truck accidents each year. According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, there were more than 70,000 auto accidents involving pickup trucks in Georgia last year. These killed 187 drivers and 40 passengers and resulted in a large number of personal injuries. Many of these deaths and injuries could have been prevented if a law had required all pickup truck drivers to buckle up.

Wearing seatbelts should be a matter of common sense, and not a law. It shouldn’t require a law to get pickup truck drivers to do the one thing that could dramatically reduce their chances of injuries or death in a truck accident. However, legislators in rural Georgia have always managed to scuttle any proposal to require seatbelts for pickup truck drivers despite the number of injuries and death caused by truck accidents each year.

With this new law, Georgia will not only manage to save lives and prevent injuries every year, but will also be eligible for federal highway funds. For years, Georgia has lost out on its share of federal funds, because of its failure to enact mandatory seatbelt laws for all.