For years, New York residents, like their counterparts across the country, have probably been under the impression that the best way to avoid auto accident injuries is to sit in the back seat. The back of the car is occupied more often, as older adults who have given up driving are more likely to sit there, as are Uber and Lyft passengers. However, improving technology and new research has demonstrated that the back of the car may not be as safe as it was once thought to be.
According to researchers, seatbelts in the back seat do not have load limiters. This means they cannot loosen up. Therefore, in a frontal car accident, the seatbelt is likely to injure passengers. It can cause spinal, back and abdominal injuries, regardless of the age of the occupant. Better technology is already combatting this problem, as seatbelts can now tighten as the car feels a crash is about to happen or loosen up if the passenger is pressing against it so hard that the belt itself might cause an injury. These new developments have not been translated into the backseat, which is why many experts are recommending older passengers sit in the front instead. This does not mean that passengers should skip wearing a seatbelt, as the dangers of not wearing one severely outweigh the risks of wearing one.
