History
In 1961 the U.S. state of Wisconsin introduced legislation requiring seat belts to be fitted to the front outboard seat positions of cars. The Australian states of Victoria and South Australia followed in 1964, with a similar requirement for belt anchorages, although not for the belts themselves. A requirement for anchorage points was introduced in 1965 in the United Kingdom, followed by the requirement in 1968 to fit three-point belts in the front outboard positions on all new cars and all existing cars back to 1965, and by the requirement in South Australia to fit belts (two- or three-point) to the front outboard positions, in all new cars.
The use of seat belts by vehicle occupants was made compulsory in Victoria, Australia, in 1970, followed by the rest of Australia and some other countries during the 1970s and 1980s. The subsequent dramatic decline in road deaths, equivalent to thousands of lives saved in Australia alone, is generally attributed to seat belt laws and subsequent road safety campaigns.
Successive UK Governments proposed, but failed to deliver, seat belt legislation throughout the 1970s. In one such attempt in 1979 similar claims for potential lives and injuries saved were advanced. William Rodgers, then Secretary of State for Transport in the Callaghan Labour Government (1976–1979), stated that: "On the best available evidence of accidents in this country - evidence which has not been seriously contested - compulsion could save up to 1000 lives and 10,000 injuries a year."
This section gives an overview of when seat belt legislation was first introduced in different countries. This includes both regional and national legislation.
| Country | Compulsory wearing | Compulsory fitting | Source | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cars | Bus passengers | Cars | Buses | |||||
| Driver | Front passengers | Rear passengers | ||||||
| Australia | 1970 | |||||||
| Canada | 1976 | |||||||
| European Union | 1993 | |||||||
| Finland | 1975 (over 15 year old secondary offence not fined),1982 front, 1987 rear | |||||||
| France | 1973 (outside cities), 1975 (cities at night), 1979 (all) | 1990 | 2003 | 1967, 1978 (back seat) | 2003 | |||
| Germany | 1976 | 1984 | 1999 | 1970, 1979 (back seat) | 1999 | de:Gurtpflicht | ||
| Hungary | 1976 | 1993 | ||||||
| Hong Kong | 1983 | 1983 | 1996 | 2004 (minibuses) | 1996 (back seat) | 2004 (minibuses) | ||
| Ireland | 1979 | 1992 | ||||||
| Japan | 2008 | 1969 | ||||||
| Netherlands | 1976 | 1992 | 1975 (front) 1990 (rear) | |||||
| New Zealand | 1972 | 1972 (15 years and over), 1979 (8 years and over) | 1989♣ | 1972 (vehicles registered after 1965), 1975 (after 1955) | ||||
| Singapore | 1973 | 1973 | 1993 | 2008 | 1973 | |||
| Spain | 1975 | |||||||
| Sweden | 1975 | 1986 | 1969 (front) 1970 (rear) | 2004 | ||||
| Thailand | 1996 | 2009 | ||||||
| United Kingdom | 1983 | 1991 | 1967 (front) 1987 (rear) | RoSPA | ||||
| United States | 1984 | Front lap 1965 model year; front shoulder & rear lap 1968; 3-point front 1974 | ||||||
♣ - definitely introduced by this date, possibly earlier
Read more about this topic: Seat Belt Legislation
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