Ride in The Backseat? Buckle-Up It's The Law

In an effort to make everyone safe while riding inside a vehicle, the governor has signed a law to make seat belts mandatory for backseat passengers as well. When we were growing up, we were never required to wear a seat belt. I can remember driving to Florida with my mom and sisters and we were never bucked up. Looking back I realize how dangerous that was, but at the time we just didn't know.

Safety, especially in vehicles, is a top priority and New York state has passed a bill that will require back seat passengers to buckle up too. According to News 10 ABC, with Governor Andrew Cuomo's signature, this bill has become law.

The new bill states that a person whether older or younger than sixteen and in the backseat of a vehicle must buckle their seat belts. However, small children and other young kids must be restrained properly using what is mandated. This simply means that all adults must now be bucked up while traveling in the backseat of a vehicle.

In 1984, Governor Mario Cuomo, the current governor's father, passed the mandatory seat belt law. Before this law, only eighteen percent of people wore a seat belt while driving. In 2008, nearly ninety percent of people were wearing seat belts. It has been proven that seat belts reduce fatal car accidents by up to sixty percent.

In his press release, Governor Cuomo said this about the bill:

“It was under my father’s leadership that New York became the first state in the country to pass a seat belt law, and the nation followed his lead. Now we are building upon this legacy and helping to create a safer and stronger Empire State for all.”

This new seat belt law will take effect on November 1st.