IIHS Reports Improvements in Seat Belt Reminders

For all of the recent innovations in crash prevention and safety in recent years, there’s little automakers can do to protect a small but stubborn set of customers: drivers and passengers who refuse to buckle their seat belts. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a 2022 observational study concluded that about 92% of people in the front seat and 82% of those in back buckle up when out on the road. While those who don’t buckle up represent only 8% and 18% of vehicle occupants, respectively, they account nevertheless for half of all front-seat deaths and a remarkable 75% of backseat passengers killed in crashes.

Related: Annoying or Lifesaving? IIHS Finds Seat Belt Reminders Insufficient in Most Pickup Trucks

Or maybe there is something automakers can do, and IIHS is pushing them to do it: install more persistent and annoying seat belt reminders. The agency began including a rating for seat belt reminders as part of its overall vehicle-safety evaluation in 2022.

Beep and Blink for Clicks

As is its standard practice, IIHS rates reminders on a scale of good, acceptable, marginal or poor. A good rating requires an audible alert that lasts at least 90 seconds and meets the agency’s volume standards if any front-seat occupant remains unbelted, as well as a visual and audible reminder if a rear-seat occupant is unbelted that lasts at least 30 seconds. Vehicles earn an acceptable rating if they meet only the front-seat requirements. Those with front-seat reminders that fall short of the requirements but have a visual and audible alert lasting at least 8 seconds rate marginal, while those with reminders lasting less than 8 seconds earn a poor rating. Contrast that to federal regulations, which only apply to the driver’s seat belt and require an audible signal of just 4-8 seconds and a visual reminder lasting at least 60 seconds.

IIHS reports that only 17% of the vehicles it tested in 2022 earned good ratings, while 65% rated marginal or poor. But automakers have already responded, with 62% of model-year 2024 vehicles tested so far rating good and only 24% earning marginal or poor rankings. Models that made the leap include those from brands ranging from Acura to Volvo, as well as bestsellers like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. Vehicles that have improved their ratings to good include:

• 2025 Acura MDX
• 2023-24 Ford Escape
• 2024 Ford Expedition
• 2023-24 Ford Maverick
• 2023-24 Honda CR-V
• 2023-24 Honda HR-V
• 2025 Honda Odyssey
• 2023-25 Honda Pilot
• 2024 Hyundai Tucson
• 2023-24 Mazda CX-5
• 2023-24 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
• 2023-24 Nissan Altima
• 2024 Subaru Crosstrek
• 2023-24 Toyota RAV4
• 2023-24 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Hatchback
• 2024 Toyota Tacoma
• 2023-24 Volvo XC40

1,600 More Birthdays

One study conducted by the agency found that the sort of persistent reminder it encourages is just as effective at getting people to buckle up as limiting vehicle speed to 15 mph until the driver buckles their belt. David Kidd, senior research scientist at IIHS, says that an audible reminder lasting at least 90 seconds increased seat belt use by some 30%, noting, “we could save almost 1,600 lives a year if every vehicle on the road was equipped with a good-rated system.”

Given the weight IIHS ratings carry among automaker marketing departments, expect to see the agency’s effort to chip away at that 1,600. Compared to the significant reengineering required to improve, say, crash-test performance, adding a few sensors in the seat and buckles is a simple way to improve safety ratings.

More From Cars.com:

• IIHS: Backseat-Passenger Safety Lacking in Some Mid-Size SUVs
• Minivan Crash Tests: Front-Seat Safety Improves, Backseat Safety Declines
• IIHS Finds Full-Size Pickups Lacking in Rear-Seat Safety
• Which Cars Under $40,000 Have Earned IIHS Top Safety Pick and NHTSA 5-Star Awards?
• Find Your Next Car

Related Video:

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.