Car manufacturers have installed louder, more persistent seat belt reminders since the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) began rating the features in 2022.
The first year, only 17 per cent of the new models tested earned a good rating, while 65 per cent were rated marginal or poor. Of the 2024 models tested so far, Sixty-two percent are rated good, while only 24 per cent are rated marginal or poor.
Eighteen vehicles with seat belt reminders that previously fell short recently earned good ratings from IIHS for their latest models. The improved vehicles are the Acura MDX, Ford Escape, Ford Expedition, Ford Maverick, Honda CR-V, Honda HR-V, Honda Odyssey, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Nissan Altima, Subaru Crosstrek, Toyota Corolla hatchback, Toyota Corolla sedan, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Tacoma and Volvo XC40.
The IIHS said failure to buckle up continues to play a large role in crash deaths. In 2022, about 92 per cent of front-seat occupants and 82 per cent of rear-seat occupants were belted in the Government’s on-road observational survey of seat belt use. But a much smaller percentage of the vehicle occupants killed in crashes — half of those in the front seat and a quarter of those in back — were belted during the crashes that killed them.
An IIHS study found that a persistent reminder was much more effective at getting part-time users to buckle up than a minimal reminder and just as effective as a speed-limiting interlock that kept the vehicle speed under 15 mph unless the driver was buckled in.
“The math is pretty simple,” said David Kidd, the IIHS senior research scientist who led that research as well as the development of the seat belt reminder rating program. “We found that an audible reminder that lasts at least 90 seconds increased belt use by around 30 per cent. That means we could save almost 1,600 lives a year if every vehicle on the road was equipped with a good-rated system.”
