The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will require new vehicles to sound a warning if back-seat passengers don’t use their seatbelts — a rule that will take effect in September 2027, the agency said this week.
That means more of the noisy, persistent ding familiar to drivers who start the ignition before clicking their seatbelt, and to front-seat passengers who forget to buckle up.
This new requirement, announced on Monday, is part of an update to the existing rule for seatbelt-reminder systems. Vehicles will also be required to have enhanced warnings for driver and front passenger seats, starting on Sep. 1, 2026.
Seatbelt use in back seats has consistently been lower than that in front seats, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2022, front seatbelt use was about 91.6 percent, while rear seatbelt use was about 81.7 percent, the agency said.
A rear-seatbelt warning is already a familiar feature to many drivers. About 47 percent of vehicles with a model year of 2022 have voluntarily provided a rear-seatbelt warning system, according to the agency.
Under the updated rule, vehicles will need to provide a visual alert when they start if a rear seat is occupied and its seatbelt is not in use. An audio and visual alert will also be required if a seatbelt is unbuckled while the vehicle is moving.
