Seat Belt Laws: A State by State Guide

Have you ever been involved in a motor vehicle accident? Were you wearing your seat belt?

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Many people oppose the idea of government enforcing the use of seat belts. Something about feeling forced to do this one particular task is infuriating to many; an infringement on freedom of choice is the argument. We even had someone troll us on Twitter for promoting a Click It or Ticket initiative earlier this year. While we respect people’s preferences and opinions, the fact is that seat belts save lives; nearly 63,000 of them from 2009 to 2013 in fact. Are there instances where seat belt use caused more harm than good in a crash? Yes, but by and large, it is safer to buckle up.

Not only can wearing your seat-belt save your life and prevent you more serious injury in the event of a car crash, it’s also the law in all but one state; New Hampshire. Seat belt laws, like state laws for cell phone use, are divided into two different categories for adults:

Primary Law – An officer can pull you over and ticket you for not wearing your seat belt.
Secondary Law – An officer can only give you a ticket for not wearing your seat belt if they have pulled you over for a different offense.

This type of primary and secondary classification does not apply to child seat belt laws which are typically targeted for children under 8 years old. Below are state seat belt laws for adults for each state, the type (primary or secondary), its required use (driver, front seats, back seats), the monetary fine for a 1st offenses, and in the last column, the number of people who died in a car crash in 2013 who were not wearing their seat belt. It is important to note that had these individuals worn their seat belt, there are no guarantees that they would have survived.

STATE	Type	Required Seat Use	1^st Offense Fine	Not restrained & Fatally Injured
Alabama	Primary	Front Seats	$25	373
Alaska	Primary	Front & Rear	$15	12
*Arizona*	Secondary	8 -15 any seat ≥ 8 Front	$10	228
Arkansas	Primary	Front Seats	$25 + fines	176
California	Primary	Front & Rear	$162	507
*Colorado*	Primary & Secondary	< 18 (P) Front ≥ 18 (S) Front	$71	178
Connecticut	Primary	Front Seats	$92 if ≥ 18 $120 if < 18	75
Delaware	Primary	Front & Rear	$25	23
D.C.	Primary	Front & Rear	$50	0
Florida	Primary	6 -17 any seat ≥ 6 Front	$30	558
Georgia	Primary	8 -17 any seat ≥ 18 Front	$15	379
Hawaii	Primary	Front & Rear	$45	23
*Idaho*	Secondary	Front & Rear	$10	99
Illinois	Primary	Front & Rear	$25 + court fees	278
Indiana	Primary	Front & Rear	$25	201
Iowa	Primary	Front & Rear	$25	103
Kansas	Primary	14 -17 any seat ≥ 18 Front	$60 if 14 -17 $10 if ≥ 18	147
STATE	Type	Required Seat Use	1^st Offense Fine	Not restrained & Fatally Injured
Kentucky	Primary	Front & Rear	$25	245
Louisiana	Primary	Front & Rear	$25	249
Maine	Primary	Front & Rear	$50	56
*Maryland*	Primary & Secondary	Front (P) Rear (S)	$25	108
*Massachusetts*	Secondary	Front & Rear	$25	96
Michigan	Primary	Front Seats	$25	184
Minnesota	Primary	Front & Rear	$25 + court fees	81
Mississippi	Primary	Front & Rear	$25	284
*Missouri*	Primary & Secondary	8 -15 (P) any seat ≥ 16 (S) Front	$10	325
*Montana*	Secondary	Front & Rear	$20	108
*Nebraska*	Secondary	Front Seats	$25	105
*Nevada*	Secondary	Front & Rear	$25	58
New Hampshire	NO LAWS			56
*New Jersey*	Primary & Secondary	Front (P) Rear (S)	$46	144
New Mexico	Primary	Front & Rear	$25	96
New York	Primary	< 16 any seat ≥ 16 Front	$50	188
*North Carolina*	Primary & Secondary	Front (P) Rear (S)	$25 + court fees	355
STATE	Type	Required Seat Use	1^st Offense Fine	Not restrained & Fatally Injured
*North Dakota*	Primary & Secondary	< 18 (P) any seat ≥ 18 (S) Front	$20	70
Ohio	Secondary	8 -14 any seat ≥ 15 Front	$30 for driver $20 for each passenger	353
Oklahoma	Primary	Front Seats	$20	253
Oregon	Primary	Front & Rear	$110	54
*Pennsylvania*	Primary & Secondary	8 -17 (P) any seat ≥ 18 (S) Front	$10	422
Rhode Island	Primary	Front & Rear	$40	19
South Carolina	Primary	Front & Rear	$25	243
*South Dakota*	Secondary	Front Seats	$20	61
Tennessee	Primary	Front & Rear	$10	354
Texas	Primary	Front & Rear	$200	908
Utah	Primary	Front & Rear	$45	57
*Vermont*	Primary & Secondary	> 18 (P) any seat ≥ 18 (S) any seat	$25	21
Virginia	Primary & Secondary	> 18 (P) any seat ≥ 18 (S) Front	$25	300
Washington	Primary	Front & Rear	$124	89
*West Virginia*	Secondary	8 – 17 any seat ≥ 18 Front	$25	113
Wisconsin	Primary	Front & Rear	$10	188
*Wyoming*	Secondary	Front & Rear	$25 for driver $10 for passenger	42

Information provided by the GHSA and the IIHS.

Who is Most at Risk?

Excluding children who, in all states, are required to be buckled in a child restraint or booster seat by their guardian, the individuals most at risk are teens. According to a 2012 online query conducted by the CDC, car crashes are the number one killer of teens in the U.S. Teens have the lowest rate of seat-belt use compared to any other age group and they also engage in dangerous driving behaviors like distracted driving and speeding more often than divers of other age groups.

If you are the parent of a teen, make sure you are effectively communicating the importance of seat belt use both when they ride as passengers and when they begin to drive themselves. This message needs to be re-enforced often along with assuring that they practice other safe driving habits like avoiding drunk, distracted, drugged, and drowsy driving among other things. If you are teen, remember this: if you are between the age of 16 and 19, you are THREE TIMES more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident as compared to drivers 20 or older. Wearing your seat belt can help cut your risk of serious injury and death by HALF.

Tips for Effectively Wearing Your Seat-Belt

Use the lap and shoulder belt: While it may feel more comfortable to move the shoulder belt behind you after putting on your seat belt, it reduces the ability of a seat-belt to protect you in the event of a crash. The lap belt keeps your butt in the seat, but it’s the shoulder belt keeps your chest and head from slamming into the steering column, windshield, or even the airbag.

Distance yourself from the steering column: We know there is a height factor to this but you should sit as far back from the steering wheel as is reasonable without compromising your ability to operate the vehicle. While shoulder belts are meant to keep you from hitting the objects in front of you, they don’t work as well if you are kissing the windshield when you drive.

Buckle up every time: A short 5 minute drive to the store may seem like an okay time to skip the belt but creating the habit of always buckling up will not only benefit you, it will likely influence passengers, like your kids, to also make it a habit.