How important is a seat belt reminder?

A seatbelt reminder is a smart, visual and audio tool that is able to detect when safety belts are not in use in different seating positions i.e. the front and rear positions in a vehicle.

A seat belt reminder system detects the weight of an occupant and whether the safety belt is fastened. If it senses that the occupant is not wearing their belt, it sounds the alarm. It gives out several warning signs and/or sounds until the belts are in use.

When the front and rear passenger haven’t worn their seat belts, the safety belt reminder system triggers an audible chime that reminds the occupant(s) that they need to fasten their safety belt.

Despite strong media campaigns and numerous statistics showing how seatbelts save lives, not everyone uses them. We’ve heard the excuses before- you forgot to put it on, you’re only driving a short distance, etc., but the fact still remains that we never do know when an accident is about to happen. A seatbelt reminder is designed to make sure you never forget to wear your belt.

Today, close to 80% of occupants fasten their safety belts thanks to a reminder system. It serves as one of the most effective means of preventing a fatal accident.

We find that:

-Seat belt reminder systems target part-time users. They know the value of the device, but sometimes they don’t use it.

-This component doesn’t affect your drivability at all

-The reminder’s signal should build progressively. Some reminder indicate that an occupant isn’t wearing their belt, then later sound the alarm. This is after you have probably driven a certain distance or had an increase in speed.

-Reminders should be installed in the rear seats as well. The rear passengers can suffer equally as bad injuries as the driver or front passenger if, God forbid, they encounter an accident.

Measuring their effectiveness

User trials conducted in the US & Sweden indicate that seat belt reminders with modified reminder systems with visual as well as audible warnings proved to be the most effective way of increasing the use of safety belts.

A Swedish study was also conducted to observe the difference between the use of seatbelts in cars with or without reminder systems. It showed that 99% of drivers with the most modern reminders use their seat belts while 93% of drivers with mild reminders (such as soft sounding alarms) used their seat belts too. 82% of drivers used their belts in vehicles without a seat belt reminder.

In the US, there was a 7% increase in the use of seatbelts among drivers with reminder systems. Reminder systems are mandatory in Europe because their effectiveness has been thoroughly tested and proven.

From the results, it is clear to see that a seatbelt reminder can indeed help the part time users slowly develop the habit of buckling in their belt.