Passengers on Back Seat Avoid Using Belts

Present in all of the cars currently sold on the world's markets as a required safety feature, the seat belts for the rear seats rarely get used by those seated at the back of the cars. While this fact was generally known in the industry, a new study conducted by LeaseTrader.com shows the extent of the problem.

The trader questioned 1,000 men and 1,000 women from the US about the use of the rear seat belts, and found that about 80 percent of them do not wear a seat belt while riding in the back. The main reason, most of those questioned answered, was the fact that they... forget to buckle up.

According to the study, men use the back seat belts 14.3 percent of the time, while women said they wore one 18.4 percent of the time. The same people make extensive use of the seat belt while riding on the front seat, with each wearing it, on average,75.2 percent of the time.

In the US, there are still several states that do not have a law in place requiring back seat passengers to use the seat belts. As a consequence, in these states (Florida, Arizona, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania), the people wear the seat belts even less, about 9.6 percent (for men) and 16.3 percent (for women).

“What’s most disturbing is that in this day and age of always-on news coverage and awareness, there is no excuse why more people aren’t wearing seat belts in all parts of the vehicle,” said Sergio Stiberman, LeaseTrader.com CEO.

“Whether it’s the local television news or an online news source, we see daily images and stories of people getting hurt while driving or riding in a vehicle which should serve as a reminder of why it’s important to buckle up.”