Most drivers know the benefits of wearing seat belts. The national rate of use for the life-saving tools was 92% across the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But what about passengers? Ahead of one of the biggest travel weekends of the year, law enforcement across New York state want drivers and passengers to be proactive.  

“We want to make sure people are safe," said Sgt. James Snell, chairperson for the Onondaga County Traffic Safety Advisory Board. "To start with, that is not only making sure our cars are safe, but they’re wearing their seat belts. No matter if it's the front seat or the back seat.”

Law enforcement is spreading the word through the Click It or Ticket campaign, putting more officers on the road until June 2. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 11,000 passengers killed in 2022 weren’t wearing seatbelts. 

“An overwhelming number of people who were restrained have little-to-no injuries in accidents," Snell said. 

Still, data shows backseat passengers wear seat belts less often than people in the front.

According to a 2021 study by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, American drivers wore seat belts 91% of the time. Eighty-nine percent of right-front seat passengers put their belts on, but only 78% of rear-seat occupants did the same. 

“It’s been a law for almost four years now," said Snell. "The rear-seat passenger law, where everybody, regardless of age, has to be seat belted in the back seat. You're just in danger of getting injured in the rear seat as you are in the front seat.”

New York is one of 33 states to require all adult passengers in vehicles to wear a seat belt. It’s a primary enforcement law, meaning you could get pulled over for not wearing a seat belt. But experts warn the consequences could be much worse.

“The inertia in that vehicle stops, everything inside the vehicle keeps on going," said paramedic Jason Casanova. "And where people get injured is when they move forward and move into the front seat, which then pushes that passenger even more forward. And so it can compound injuries on the front-seat passengers, and also cause severe injuries and even death to the rear-seat passengers.” 

“Everybody regardless of age has to be seat-belted in the back seat," Snell said. "You’re in just as much danger in getting injured in the rear seat as you are in the front seat.”