Automakers rapidly enhance seat belt reminders in response to IIHS rankings

Automakers have moved rapidly to put in louder, extra persistent seat belt reminders because the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security started ranking the options in 2022.

The primary 12 months, solely 17% of the brand new fashions examined earned a great ranking, whereas 65% had been rated marginal or poor. However producers have already flipped these numbers. Sixty-two % of the 2024 fashions examined up to now are rated good, whereas solely 24% are rated marginal or poor.

“Automakers can enhance a car’s efficiency on this check with just a few small software program adjustments,” IIHS President David Harkey stated. “These straightforward tweaks can have a big effect on security.”

Eighteen automobiles with seat belt reminders that beforehand fell quick not too long ago earned good rankings from IIHS for his or her newest fashions. The improved automobiles 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.

Eight fashions had been beforehand rated poor, which suggests they solely included a short reminder for the motive force seat. Seven extra had been rated marginal as a result of reminders that weren’t lengthy sufficient or loud sufficient. Three others had been rated acceptable, which suggests they met the necessities for the front-row seating positions however not for the second row.

Failure to buckle up continues to play a big position in crash deaths. In 2022, about 92% of front-seat occupants and 82% of rear-seat occupants had been belted within the authorities’s on-road observational survey of seat belt use. However a a lot smaller share of the car occupants killed in crashes — half of these within the entrance seat and 1 / 4 of these in again — had been belted throughout the crashes that killed them.

Many future crash victims may very well be saved with higher seat belt reminders, IIHS research has discovered. Whereas a small variety of folks nonetheless adamantly refuse to buckle up, many part-time seat belt customers neglect to make use of them on quick journeys or just overlook.

An IIHS research discovered {that a} persistent reminder was way more efficient at getting part-time customers to buckle up than a minimal reminder and simply as efficient as a speed-limiting interlock that saved the car pace beneath 15 mph except the motive force was buckled in.

“The maths is fairly easy,” stated David Kidd, the IIHS senior analysis scientist who led that analysis in addition to the event of the seat belt reminder ranking program. “We discovered that an audible reminder that lasts a minimum of 90 seconds elevated belt use by round 30%. Meaning we might save virtually 1,600 lives a 12 months if each car on the highway was outfitted with a good-rated system.”

The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration proposed tougher federal standards in 2023, however the proposed rule lacked a number of vital parts, similar to an enough quantity requirement, and has not moved ahead.

For now, laws specify solely that seat belt reminders should embody an audible sign that lasts for 4-8 seconds complete and a visible alert that lasts a minimum of 60 seconds each time the motive force’s seat belt is unbuckled. Such quick reminders are straightforward to disregard.

In distinction, for a good rating from IIHS, automobiles should have an audible reminder that lasts a minimum of 90 seconds if any of the occupied entrance seats stays unbuckled, in addition to meet quantity requirements and different situations. A visible and protracted audible reminder lasting a minimum of 30 seconds that alerts the motive force when a belted rear occupant unbuckles can also be required.

Some automakers have gone even additional, equipping automobiles with audible alerts that don’t cease till all of the occupants are buckled in, regardless of how lengthy it takes, or including reminders for third-row occupants.

“This fast progress represents an enormous win,” Harkey stated. “Ensuring everyone makes use of their seat belt on each journey is a straightforward solution to save lives.”

Seat belt reminder rankings: assorted automobiles