Every state except New Hampshire has seatbelt laws, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the seatbelt warning systems in many new vehicles fell short of the latest standards it set in 2023. That said, more recent IIHS research shows that the systems have improved, with far more models reaching its highest “Good” scoring standard.
The IIHS said that 62 percent of the models it has tested so far in 2024 have achieved the score, up from 17 percent during the first assessments in 2022. The NHTSA changed federal standards in 2023, but the IIHS said its new rules miss important factors like alert volumes and others.
IIHS senior research scientist David Kidd said, “The goal of the program is to provide an incentive to manufacturers to have a stronger seat belt reminder system that will be effective and get people to buckle up every time they’re in the car. We noticed that the current regulations in the United States are lacking.”
Today’s seatbelt rules state that the vehicle must sound a four- to eight-second alarm if it detects an unbuckled person only in the driver’s seat. Despite that, the IIHS said that systems with alarms that sound more persistently beyond that period are more effective at reducing the number of crash-related injuries.
This year, 18 vehicles moved up the ranks during the assessment, earning higher scores than in previous years. They include the Acura MDX, Ford Escape, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Toyota Corolla Hatchback, and others.
[Images: IIHS, Acura, Toyota]
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