Seat belt laws in the United States

As of today, New Hampshire is the only state with no law requiring adults to wear seat belts in a vehicle.

New Hampshire is the only U.S. state that does not by law require adult drivers to wear safety belts while operating a motor vehicle.

(One exception to this is Colorado, where children not properly restrained is a primary offense and brings a much larger fine.)

[citation needed] Twenty-three states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands had seat belt usage of 90% or higher in 2017.

4 Kansas, Maryland, and New Jersey, law is Secondary Enforcement for rear seat occupants (18+ in Kansas).5 These states assess points on one's driving record for the seat belt violation.6 In California, an additional penalty of $29 shall be levied upon every $10 or fraction thereof, of every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed by and collected by the court for criminal offenses, including all traffic offenses, except parking offenses as defined in subdivision (i) of Penal Code § 1463.

[clarification needed] Currently, damages may be reduced for the non-use of a seat belt in 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida (See F.S.A.

316.614(10)), Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

[21] One study found that mandatory-seatbelt laws reduced traffic fatalities in youths by 8% and serious traffic-related injuries by 9%, respectively.