June 8, 2021

Rep. Bolinsky: House Gives Final Approval to Back-Seat Safety Belt Law

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HARTFORD- In the House of Representatives today, State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) hailed passage of his life-saving measure which requires back seat passengers in a motor vehicle to wear seat belts.

“When it comes to being unbuckled in rear seats, particularly in larger vehicles, fatality rates are considerably higher for everyone in the vehicle, even buckled front-seat occupants”, said Rep. Bolinsky. “When crashes occur, back seat passengers that are not restrained can become ‘human missiles.’ Not only do they have a greater risk of being ejected but, they often are thrown into buckled front-seat passengers, causing serious and sometimes fatal injuries.”

According to data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) unbelted rear seat passengers are 3 times more likely to die than those who are buckled at the time of a serious impact.

Rep. Bolinsky has proposed this piece of legislation for several years, usually running out of time at the end legislative sessions but, would not give up on this common-sense opportunity to save lives. Over the years, many experts have testified in support of this legislative initiative. In 2017, Newtown’s Dr. Neil Chaudhary, CEO & Traffic Safety Consultant of the Pressure Group, was Rep Bolinsky’s guest and expert witness, providing research data on the impact of passengers not wearing seat belts in the back seat of a motor vehicle. According to his testimony, if the law governing the requirement that front seat passengers wearing seat belts were to be extended to also cover back seat passengers and usage rates in the front and back seats conformed, Connecticut would experience a 25% decrease in traffic-related fatalities.

Rep. Bolinsky added that under the Connecticut Graduated License laws teen operators are required to have front and back seat passengers buckled. However, upon turning 18 years of age rear seat compliance is no longer in legal requirement.

This measure is widely supported by the likes of the American Automobile Association (AAA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

The bill was part of the annual Department of Transportation omnibus bill and now moves to the State Senate. The legislative session ends June 9 at midnight.