Nearly 900 adults died from not wearing seat belts in 2013 and there was one common denominator: They were all riding in the back seat, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association.
The association issued the report on Monday as a warning, gearing up for the influx in travel around the Thanksgiving holiday.
The report asserted that seat belts would have saved 400 of these lives and that rear seat passengers are three times more likely to die in a crash if they don’t buckle up.
The concern for the researchers is that front seat passengers are more likely to buckle up than rear seat passengers.
The report found that 87 percent of front seat passengers wear their seat belt, compared to just 78 percent in the backseat.
The discrepancy became more apparent when researchers looked at fatalities: 74 percent wore seat belts in the front seat, compared to 60 percent in the backseat, according to the report.
While the report pointed out that 32 states don’t have strong rear seat belt laws, California does have a law against not wearing your seat belt and violates could face a $162 fine.
