General Motors New Seatbelt Interlock System Is Available – 48 Years Later Than Planned

In 1973, the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring that all new vehicles sold in America have a seatbelt ignition interlock system installed in the vehicles. The data back in 1973 confirmed that these systems increase seatbelt usage by 700 percent.  Sounds like a common sense solution to traffic fatalities and injuries, right? Well, no. The law was overturned just one year later, in 1974, after a large letter-writing campaign and pleas to Congressional representatives.

Jalopnik reports that General Motors has steered its seatbelt design in a new direction. Effective 2022, General Motors will install its “Buckle to Drive” seatbelt interlock system into most of its vehicles. The interlock will prevent vehicles from shifting out of the park position (i.e., from starting) – if the driver is not “belted and buckled.”

GM initiated the Buckle to Drive system in 2020 as part of a teen driver safety suite on its Canyon, Travers, Colorado, and Malibu models. GM has also made the Buckle to Drive interlock available on its Equinox and Blazer models. The company will include the new system on its Silverado and GMC Sierra in their new models for 2022.

Jalopnik expressed these additional thoughts about the benefits of safety interlock systems. The company:

• Favors the seatbelt interlocks for safety reasons and because insurance rates should decrease for drivers who own vehicles with the seatbelt interlock safety feature.
• States that more than half of all traffic fatalities include a driver or passenger who was not clicked into a seatbelt. The broad implementation by GM of these systems is expected to save many lives.
• Is concerned that the new Buckle to Drive software can be disabled.
• Recommends that the seatbelt interlock technology should not just be for the driver, but that the software should be used by everyone in the front seat.

The Buckle to Drive system

The Drive wrote in August 2021 that GM, in anticipation of one of Jalopnik’s concerns, would be including a Buckle to Drive feature in its 2023 models that requires the front passenger to also have his/her buckle on and belted.

According to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), the “national use rate of seat belts was at 90.3% in 2020.” Seatbelts were first introduced back in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Starting in the early 1970s, vehicles were required to install seat belts – though, as discussed above, the requirement that the driver or passenger actually use the seatbelt was not required.

Seatbelt injury and death statistics

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle accidents are a major cause of death among people in the United States aged between one to 54. Most of the victims are drivers and passengers, although car crashes do kill pedestrians and bicycle riders too.

In 2018, more than 22,600 drivers and passengers died in passenger vehicle accidents in the United States. More than half of teenagers (13-19) and adults (20-44) who died in motor vehicle crashes in 2018 were not buckled up at the time of the accident.

In 2018, more than 2.3 million drivers and passengers were treated in emergency rooms due to a motor vehicle accident. Drivers and passengers between 18-24 were injured the most compared to other adult age groups. It is estimated that non-fatal crash injuries to car occupants cost nearly $62 billion in lifetime work loss costs and medical expenses in 2017.

Wearing a seatbelt is one of the best ways for saving lives and reducing injuries for adults and for children who are big enough to wear the seatbelt properly.

Liability for car accidents where the victim was not wearing a seatbelt

At Philbrook Law our car accident lawyers fight to hold anyone who caused your injuries accountable for your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. Common defendants in vehicle crashes include the driver and the owner of the vehicle, if different than the driver.

In Washington, according to state law:

• Any person 16 years of age or older who drives or is a passenger in a motor vehicle is required to wear their seat belt and to have the seat belt properly fastened and properly adjusted.
• No driver can operate a motor vehicle unless all children in the car who are under 16 are either wearing a seat belt assembly or are secured by an approved child restraint device.
• Violators will be issued a notice of a traffic infraction. If the driver or passenger is found to have committed a traffic infraction, the violation will be noted on the driver’s abstract – but will not be available to insurance companies or employees.
• Failure to wear a seatbelt is not to be considered negligence or considered a negligence factor in a civil action lawsuit.
• Exceptions to the seatbelt requirement may be based on a written verification by a doctor that the driver or passenger is not able to wear the safety belt for medical or physical reasons.
• Exceptions may also apply to drivers and passengers of vehicles that make frequent stops – such as farm vehicles and construction equipment.

At Philbrook Law, our Vancouver and Battle Ground, WA car accident lawyers fight aggressively to hold all responsible parties, including drivers and vehicle owners, liable for the accidents they cause. We demand compensation for all your economic and non-economic damages. If a loved one died due to the negligence of another driver, we file wrongful death claims on behalf of the family. When the seatbelt systems are defective, we file claims against the manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of the faulty equipment – including defective seatbelts and airbags.

To speak with a seasoned car accident and product liability lawyer in Vancouver or Battle Ground, WA, please call us at 360-695-3309 or use our contact form to schedule an appointment. We represent accident victims on a contingency fee basis.