At Michaels & Smolak, we all wear our seatbelts, everywhere, every time we are in a car, whether we ride in the back or the front. Hey, as Syracuse car accident lawyers, what would you expect? We’ve handled many cases where we believe even backseat belts have saved lives or reduced injuries. We’ve also represented families of several unrestrained backseat passengers who were killed or seriously injury and who we believe would have survived or suffered less serious injuries had they been restrained. According to AAA statistics, unrestrained rear-seat passengers involved in crashes are eight times more likely to be seriously injured and three times more likely to be killed.
So that’s why we support the new bill, likely to become law in New York, requiring backseat passengers to buckle up. The current law requires only front seat occupants to wear seatbelts, and those in the back seat who are under 16 years old.
New Yorkers will not be alone in being required to buckle up in back. Twenty-nine other States already have a buckle-up-in-back law.