Below is a list of the best when did seat belts become mandatory voted by readers and compiled and edited by our team, let’s find out
It has been a legal requirement to have seat belts in the front and rear of cars for 30 years, but many people still don’t fully grasp the legislation.
We all understand the reasoning behind the legislation and the safety implications of not wearing one. But do you know what happens if you’re caught driving without a seat belt on? Or who’s responsibility it is if your passenger isn’t wearing one? And what are the exemptions from the law?
Follow our guide to understand everything you need to know about the law surrounding seat belts.
What is the basic seat belt legislation?
First and foremost, if your vehicle has seat belts that you legally have to wear them. You’re also only allowed one person in each seat fitted with a seat belt.
Unless your car is a very old classic car then it’s unlikely your vehicle won’t have seat belts. It has been a legal requirement in the UK since 1965 that all cars must have anchorage points fitted in the front of new cars and two years later, in 1967, for seat belts to be fitted in front seats.
By 1987, all new cars sold in the UK legally had to have rear seat belts fitted too, although most manufacturers were already fitting them as standard. In 1989 it became a legal requirement for children travelling in the back of cars to wear seat belts and in 1991 adult passengers had to also wear seat belts in the back of cars.
What are the seat belt laws for children?
Children must be in the correct car seat for the height or weight until they reach 135cm tall or their 12th birthday (whichever is first). After this they must be wearing a seat belt.
The driver is responsible for children aged up to 14 travelling as passengers. Anyone over the age of 14 is responsible for their own actions.
What are the exemptions from wearing a seat belt?
Taxis – Licensed taxi drivers who are ‘plying for hire’ don’t need to legally wear a seat belt, although it’s recommend they do. Passengers, however, must legally wear one.
Delivery Drivers – If a drivers is travelling no more than 50m between stops then they don’t need to wear a seat belt.
Reversing – A driver who is reversing or supervising a learner driver who is reversing doesn’t need to adhere to the law.
Investing a Fault – Only if you’re in a trade vehicle, you can be a passenger and not wear a seat belt if you’re investigating a fault.
Police, Fire & Rescue – If you’re travelling in a vehicle being used for this purpose then it is not a requirement to wear a seat belt.
Medical Reasons – If you have a ‘Certificate of Exemption from Compulsory Seat Belt Wearing’ you must keep it in your vehicle and inform your insurance company.
Do animals need to wear seat belts?
Having loose animals in the car can be a distraction while driving and cause an accident. That’s why Rule 57 of the Highway Code states that dogs and other animals must be restrained in car. This can either be a seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard.
What is the punishment for not wearing a seat belt?
If you’re caught travelling in a vehicle not wearing a seat belt you could get an on-the-spot Fixed Penalty Notice of £100. Not wearing a seat belt isn’t an endorsable offence so you won’t get any penalty points on your driving licence.
Everyone over the age of 14 is responsible for their own actions, so if you’re a passenger you will also receive a fine. The driver will receive a fine for each child passenger under 14 travelling without a seat belt.
If the case goes to court, the fine could increase to £500.
Top 23 when did seat belts become mandatory edit by Top Q&A
40 years of UK seatbelt wearing saves thousands of lives
- Author: pacts.org.uk
- Published Date: 01/21/2022
- Review: 4.89 (805 vote)
- Summary: On 31 January 1983 the seatbelts wearing law came into force. Shortly after this, 90% of car drivers and front seat passengers were observed …
Rear seat belts: When did wearing them become mandatory?
- Author: torque.com.sg
- Published Date: 07/17/2022
- Review: 4.77 (305 vote)
- Summary: Rear seat belts are mandatory in cars produced after 1993. In 1993, the Road Traffic Act made buckling up mandatory for any backseat passenger …
When Did Seat Belts Become Mandatory?
- Author: itstillruns.com
- Published Date: 01/11/2022
- Review: 4.55 (242 vote)
- Summary: In 1968 the federal government mandated that all new cars include seat belts at all seating positions. Today all states except New Hampshire have some sort of …
How has the seatbelt law evolved since 1968?
- Author: roadsafetygb.org.uk
- Published Date: 03/30/2022
- Review: 4.02 (313 vote)
- Summary: When seatbelt wearing became compulsory for all rear-seat occupants in 1991, there was an immediate increase from 10% to 40% in observed seat …
- Matching search results: By 1987, all new cars sold in the UK legally had to have rear seat belts fitted too, although most manufacturers were already fitting them as standard. In 1989 it became a legal requirement for children travelling in the back of cars to wear seat …
When Americans Resisted Seat Belt Laws – HISTORY
- Author: history.com
- Published Date: 01/18/2022
- Review: 3.89 (589 vote)
- Summary: Dole issued a rule in 1985 that required automakers to install driver’s side airbags in all new cars unless—and this is the kicker—two-thirds of …
- Matching search results: “The Reagan administration was put in a bind,” says Mashaw. “They were diehard deregulators and the Supreme Court told them they had to regulate. There’s no way they could justify saying that passive restraints didn’t work, so Elizabeth Dole, then …
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When did seat belts become mandatory?
- Author: getjerry.com
- Published Date: 08/17/2022
- Review: 3.77 (392 vote)
- Summary: Seat belts became mandatory on January 1, 1968, when Title 49 of the U.S. Code, Chapter 301, Motor Safety Standard made seat belts in vehicles a …
- Matching search results: “The Reagan administration was put in a bind,” says Mashaw. “They were diehard deregulators and the Supreme Court told them they had to regulate. There’s no way they could justify saying that passive restraints didn’t work, so Elizabeth Dole, then …
Seat belt law – Wisconsin Department of Transportation
- Author: wisconsindot.gov
- Published Date: 03/31/2022
- Review: 3.45 (502 vote)
- Summary: Seat belt law … Any automobile sold in the state of Wisconsin must be equipped with safety belts. All drivers of motor vehicles and all passengers over the age …
- Matching search results: “The Reagan administration was put in a bind,” says Mashaw. “They were diehard deregulators and the Supreme Court told them they had to regulate. There’s no way they could justify saying that passive restraints didn’t work, so Elizabeth Dole, then …
When Did Rear Seat Belts Become Law?
- Author: carsroute.com.ar
- Published Date: 10/03/2022
- Review: 3.33 (427 vote)
- Summary: 1983 – The law was changed so the driver and front seat passenger had to wear seatbelts.1989 – It became compulsory for children aged 14 and under to wear.
- Matching search results: 1983 – The law was changed so the driver and front seat passenger had to wear seatbelts.1989 – It became compulsory for children aged 14 and under to wear a seatbelt in the rear.1991 – It became compulsory for all adults to wear a seatbelt in the …
Seat belts – IIHS
- Author: iihs.org
- Published Date: 05/27/2022
- Review: 3.05 (370 vote)
- Summary: Seat belts also prevent occupants from being ejected from the vehicle, … back seat: 80 percent of rear-seat occupants were observed using belts in 2020.
- Matching search results: Numerous studies show that publicized enforcement campaigns such as “Click It or Ticket” are needed to sustain high levels of compliance over time (Williams et al., 2000). In 1993, North Carolina implemented the first statewide “Click It or Ticket” …
FROM THE ARCHIVE: 1st day of driving when wearing seat belts became CA law in 1986
- Author: abc7news.com
- Published Date: 07/12/2022
- Review: 2.83 (66 vote)
- Summary: In this edition of “From The Archive,” here’s a look back on the day when wearing seat belts became state law reported by Willie Monroe on …
- Matching search results: Numerous studies show that publicized enforcement campaigns such as “Click It or Ticket” are needed to sustain high levels of compliance over time (Williams et al., 2000). In 1993, North Carolina implemented the first statewide “Click It or Ticket” …
Thirty years of seatbelt safety
- Author: gov.uk
- Published Date: 02/16/2022
- Review: 2.86 (142 vote)
- Summary: Three decades of compulsory seatbelt use are being marked today as the government made a selection of historic THINK! adverts available …
- Matching search results: Numerous studies show that publicized enforcement campaigns such as “Click It or Ticket” are needed to sustain high levels of compliance over time (Williams et al., 2000). In 1993, North Carolina implemented the first statewide “Click It or Ticket” …
Seat belts and the law
- Author: citizensinformation.ie
- Published Date: 08/22/2022
- Review: 2.6 (134 vote)
- Summary: A safety belt consists of an assembly of straps adequately fixed to the vehicle, with a securing buckle. These straps must be capable of being …
- Matching search results: Numerous studies show that publicized enforcement campaigns such as “Click It or Ticket” are needed to sustain high levels of compliance over time (Williams et al., 2000). In 1993, North Carolina implemented the first statewide “Click It or Ticket” …
A Seat Belt History Timeline
- Author: magazine.northeast.aaa.com
- Published Date: 02/02/2022
- Review: 2.64 (194 vote)
- Summary: 1968 – Seat Belts Become Nationally Mandated … The first federal law mandating all new cars be equipped with both lap and shoulder belts in the front seat is …
- Matching search results: But there was a second industry in play. Insurance companies, which had a vested interest in the safety of passengers, sued the administration. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the insurers and ordered the Department of Transportation …
Interesting facts about seat belts and seat belts in Germany!
- Author: tuningblog.eu
- Published Date: 05/09/2022
- Review: 2.4 (80 vote)
- Summary: In the Federal Republic of Germany, however, the seat belt requirement was only set by law very late, because vehicle manufacturers in the …
- Matching search results: And according to the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO), a coach with a year of construction must also ab October 1, 1999 a belt to buckle up will be available. However, buses before October 99 do not have to be retrofitted. Public buses …
A History of Seat Belts
- Author: defensivedriving.com
- Published Date: 09/14/2022
- Review: 2.34 (127 vote)
- Summary: Once they became more common in cars, laws soon followed afterwards. … Though they were required by law to be in cars, wearing seat belt …
- Matching search results: Since 1966, American vehicles are required to have seat belts in their cars. As such, by 1975, most first-world countries had a seat belt requirement in their cars. Once they became more common in cars, laws soon followed afterwards. By 1970, the …
The Surprisingly Controversial History Of Seat Belts
- Author: wpr.org
- Published Date: 06/01/2022
- Review: 2.34 (77 vote)
- Summary: It wasn’t until the late 1950s that an engineer at Volvo devised the three-point seat belt most of us are familiar with today. This new model …
- Matching search results: Since 1966, American vehicles are required to have seat belts in their cars. As such, by 1975, most first-world countries had a seat belt requirement in their cars. Once they became more common in cars, laws soon followed afterwards. By 1970, the …
Revisionist History: Seat Belts & Resistance to Public Health Measures
- Author: the-rheumatologist.org
- Published Date: 02/22/2022
- Review: 2.11 (102 vote)
- Summary: In 1968, when seat belts became standard equipment, some drivers responded by cutting them out of their vehicles. In 1982, when Michigan State …
- Matching search results: There are other sources of pressure as well. Canada recently announced plans to mandate proof of vaccination for passengers on all commercial flights.17 The U.S. is planning to require vaccination against COVID-19 for nearly all foreign visitors.18 …
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Test your knowledge: When was wearing a seatbelt made mandatory for UK drivers?
- Author: driving.co.uk
- Published Date: 11/13/2022
- Review: 2.13 (164 vote)
- Summary: In 1987 rear seatbelts were required in all new cars, but again it took some time for it to become law for rear passengers to wear a belt …
- Matching search results: Britain required the fitting of seatbelt anchorage points in the front of new cars in 1967 (post-1965 cars had to be fitted with belts retrospectively) but it did not become the law for drivers and front passengers to wear seatbelts until January …
50 years of mandatory seatbelts saving lives in NSW
- Author: nsw.gov.au
- Published Date: 01/16/2022
- Review: 2.02 (144 vote)
- Summary: This week marks 50 years since NSW made history, becoming one of the first states to introduce legislation to make seatbelts mandatory. Minister …
- Matching search results: Britain required the fitting of seatbelt anchorage points in the front of new cars in 1967 (post-1965 cars had to be fitted with belts retrospectively) but it did not become the law for drivers and front passengers to wear seatbelts until January …
NSW marks 50 years of mandatory seatbelts
- Author: 9news.com.au
- Published Date: 03/08/2022
- Review: 1.85 (87 vote)
- Summary: But in November 1971, NSW would be one of the first in the world to make it mandatory to wear a seat belt. “If you look at last year, in …
- Matching search results: Britain required the fitting of seatbelt anchorage points in the front of new cars in 1967 (post-1965 cars had to be fitted with belts retrospectively) but it did not become the law for drivers and front passengers to wear seatbelts until January …
Seat Belt History, the Law and Seat Belt Fines Explained
- Author: co-oplegalservices.co.uk
- Published Date: 03/01/2022
- Review: 1.71 (91 vote)
- Summary: 1991 – It became compulsory for all adults to wear a seatbelt in the back of a car. In a road traffic accident you are nearly twice as …
- Matching search results: Whilst most drivers and passengers in the UK do wear their seatbelts, people in their late teens and early thirties are more likely not to wear a seat belt and also have the highest accident rates. This combined with evidence that shows that drivers …
History of Seat Belts: Effective for Men and Women?
- Author: saferide4kids.com
- Published Date: 07/28/2022
- Review: 1.71 (138 vote)
- Summary: The first seat belt law—federal law Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety Standard—took effect in 1968. The law …
- Matching search results: There were no regulations for seat belt performance in the U.S. until after National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 created what is now the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA). The first seat belt law—federal law …
Seat Belt Use | Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths
- Author: minnesotatzd.org
- Published Date: 04/17/2022
- Review: 1.69 (63 vote)
- Summary: The seat belt law was upgraded to a primary law 23 years later and went into effect on June 9, 2009. The law states that drivers and passengers in all seating …
- Matching search results: There were no regulations for seat belt performance in the U.S. until after National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 created what is now the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA). The first seat belt law—federal law …
