HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—All vehicle passengers will be required to wear a seat belt while on Connecticut roads under a new law that goes into effect this Friday, October 1, 2021.
The new rear seat belt law expands the state's pre-existing seat belt laws to include passengers of all ages that are in the back seat.
Pre-existing law only required rear seat passengers to buckle up if they were under the age of 16, according to state officials.
Looking back, Governor Ned Lamont noted that Connecticut was one of the first states to pass a mandatory seat belt law over 30 years ago, but it only applied to drivers and front seat passengers.
"In the old days, you didn't think as much about the back seat," Lamont said, "but I think today, in this era of Lyft and Uber, it's particularly important that we remember that the back seat belt keeps you safe and keeps others in the vehicle safe."
The need to implement these car safety measures is even more critical today now that Connecticut's highways are back to pre-pandemic traffic levels, State Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti said.
Connecticut saw more than 12,589 rear seat occupant injuries between 2017 and 2020, Giulietti said, as well as 61 fatalities.
This new law will help in the Department of Transportation's efforts to reduce vehicle-related injuries and fatalities, he said.
The law is subject to secondary enforcement, Giulietti said, meaning that drivers can't be pulled over because there is an unbelted rear seat passenger.
However, he stressed, "People are going to be aware that they now have to make sure that the people in the back do have their seatbelts on and that tickets will be issued for unbelted passengers if the driver is pulled over for any other offense."
Tickets will range from $50 for drivers that are 18 and older and $75 for drivers that are under 18.