New York Needs to Update Its Seatbelt Laws

Three decades ago, New York State was responsible for kick-starting one of the most important traffic safety laws we have in the United States – mandatory seatbelt laws. Over the last 30 years, seatbelts have saved more than 300,000 lives nationwide. In fact, just in 2012, seatbelts saved 460 lives in New York State alone. But 79 more lives would have been saved that year if everyone in the vehicle had buckled up.
New York, once a pioneer state in seatbelt regulation has fallen behind. Today, 28 states and the District of Columbia require that all rear seat passengers buckle up, but New York is not one of them. Under New York law, only children under the age of 16 are required to buckle up in the back seat. In New York, more than 25 percent of adults don’t wear a seatbelt in the rear seats.

The Danger of Not Buckling Up
A recent study shows that although adults make up only 21 percent of rear-seat occupants, they account for 52 percent of deaths and 60 percent of serious injuries sustained in the rear seats. This has been directly attributed to their lower rate of seatbelt usage. By not buckling up in the back seat, passengers are eight times more likely to be seriously injured in a crash.
Also, backseat passengers are twice as likely to kill a front-seat occupant by becoming a projectile. Nationwide, preventable injuries and fatalities to unbelted passengers cost society $70 billion a year in medical care, lost productivity and reduced quality of life, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The Law Needs to Change
Even though seatbelt use in the front seat has steadily grown over the years, the decline in its use by backseat passengers is seriously disturbing. For example, in New Jersey, seatbelt use went up by 94 percent in 2012, but only 27 percent of adult backseat passengers were buckled up. As New York car accident lawyers who represent crash victims and their families, we absolutely support mandatory seatbelt use for backseat passengers.
Compensation for Accident Victims
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. For over 43 years, our skilled accident attorneys have a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a man who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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