Young people not buckling up when riding in the backseat

Young adults and teens are using backseat seat belts less often than adults, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety reported.

Of the 30 back-seat passengers ages 13 to 24 that were killed between 2008 and 2010, only three were belted, the DPS reported. Front seat passengers in the same age group were four to five times more likely to be belted.

“You can’t have a false sense of security when riding in the back seat, the rules of physics still apply,” said Donna Berger, director of the DPS Office of Traffic Safety. “It’s vital that others in the vehicle speak up and remind everyone to get belted.”

However, the DPS reported that use of backseat belts is low in all age groups; only 26 percent of all backseat passengers who were killed had been wearing seat belts. By comparison, nearly half of all front seat fatalities had been belted.

The DPS reminded motorists that it’s illegal in Minnesota for any driver or passenger not to wear a seat belt, adding that unbelted people can slam into others during a crash, causing injuries or death.

Tags: news, minnesota, traffic