17:I[87134,["/_next/static/chunks/abf43a076ddbd945.js?dpl=dpl_F6KiLDDFSAiMcLzw3V2cQMgAbhkA","/_next/static/chunks/5ac73fe2b25fc6c9.js?dpl=dpl_F6KiLDDFSAiMcLzw3V2cQMgAbhkA","/_next/static/chunks/92bdbfeca3f655f7.js?dpl=dpl_F6KiLDDFSAiMcLzw3V2cQMgAbhkA","/_next/static/chunks/733be0453bf96ece.js?dpl=dpl_F6KiLDDFSAiMcLzw3V2cQMgAbhkA","/_next/static/chunks/27718c319dd13e9b.js?dpl=dpl_F6KiLDDFSAiMcLzw3V2cQMgAbhkA","/_next/static/chunks/34c922b381f458e9.js?dpl=dpl_F6KiLDDFSAiMcLzw3V2cQMgAbhkA","/_next/static/chunks/c85eefbddd563073.js?dpl=dpl_F6KiLDDFSAiMcLzw3V2cQMgAbhkA"],"default"] 18:T53f,

In 2022, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety began rating seatbelt reminder systems in new vehicles. Despite ongoing gains in overall car safety, traffic fatalities across the United States keep climbing, with roughly half of those deaths involving people who were not wearing seatbelts.

Jessica Jermakian, IIHS senior vice president of vehicle research, pointed out that national belt usage tops 90 percent yet unbelted occupants still represent half of all crash deaths. She made the comments during a recent visit to the organization's Vehicle Research Center in Virginia.

Fresh National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data for 2024 shows that 48 percent of the 22,713 people killed in crashes were unbelted.

IIHS judges both audible and visual alerts for the front and second rows. Scoring takes volume, frequency, and duration into account. A "Good" rating requires the chime to last at least 90 seconds for any unbuckled occupant.

These stricter standards have prompted many automakers to fit longer and more noticeable reminders. Nearly 70 percent of 2025 models evaluated so far earned a "Good" rating.

Jermakian noted that the tougher alerts are effective. They prompt part-time users, including those making short trips or riding in taxis and rideshares, to buckle up more reliably.