Illinois Study Backs Safety Belts for Back Seat

An Illinois transportation study shows that back-seat passengers killed in auto accidents are twice as likely as front-seat passengers to not be wearing safety belts.

The Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety released the data from a 2003 to 2009 study.

In 2009, 74 back seat passengers died in crashes but only 12 percent of those were buckled in. State law does not require adults in the back seat to wear belts.

IDOT and the Illinois State Police are planning to operate nearly 900 safety belt enforcement zones with more than 150 local law enforcement agencies in the coming weeks.

Police will also conduct roadside safety tests and step up patrols for impaired drivers.