Seat belts save lives.
One of the most dangerous activities people do daily is traveling by vehicle. While you can’t control what other drivers do, you can control what you do. And one of the safest choices you can make in a vehicle is to buckle up.
Research has found that proper use of safety belts reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and light truck occupants by 60 percent. Additionally, research has found that safety belts reduces the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent for cars and by 65 percent for light trucks.
That’s why we urge you — Buckle up, South Carolina. Every trip. Every time.
Seat Belt Laws in South Carolina
South Carolina has a primary safety belt enforcement law. Under the primary law, a law enforcement officer has the authority to stop a driver if the officer has a clear and unobstructed view of a driver or occupant of a motor vehicle not wearing a safety belt or not secured in a child restraint system.
Remember — you are responsible for operating your vehicle in a safe manner so make sure you and your passengers are buckled up.
Read more about South Carolina's seat belt laws here.
Facts about Seat Belts
- Many Americans understand the lifesaving value of the seat belt – the national use rate was at 91.9% in 2023.
- In 2022, more than 25,000 occupants were killed in passenger vehicle collisions. About 50% of those killed were not buckled.
- In 2021 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts.
- Ejected occupants are four times as likely to be killed as those who remain inside the vehicle.
- Safety belts should be worn at all times, even on short trips close to home. Three out of four fatal crashes occur within 25 miles of the crash victim's home. Most crashes causing death or injury occur at speeds below 40 miles per hour.
Helpful Tips for Proper Seat Belt Use
- To get the most benefit out of your safety belt, you should wear it low over the pelvis with the bottom edge touching the tops of the thighs. The shoulder belt should be worn over the shoulder and across the chest, not under the arm and over the abdomen. Make certain that the shoulder belt is not worn so loosely that it slides off the shoulder. Pregnant women should wear the lap belt below the abdomen and the shoulder belt above the belly.
- Even if your car has airbags, always wear your safety belt. Airbags are supplemental restraint systems designed to work with safety belts — not in place of them. Airbags help protect adults in a frontal crash, but they do not provide protection on side and rear impact crashes or in rollovers.
- Fear of entrapment during vehicle fire or submersion is not a valid reason for not wearing seat belts. Only one-half of one percent of all crashes ends in fire or submersion. Most crash fatalities result from the force of impact or from being thrown from the vehicle, not from becoming trapped inside the vehicle.
Child Passenger Safety Laws
One of the safest choices you can make for your child in a vehicle is to secure them in a properly sized child safety seat. When properly installed, child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers, according to the CDC.
Car seats and booster seats are the basic protection systems for passengers who are too small to get the full safety benefits from adult seat belts. The goal of car seats is to provide small children with the same protection, or better, that adults obtain from seat belts and other safety equipment built into a vehicle. They are designed to keep children within the vehicle and close to their original seating position to prevent contact with harmful interior surfaces or other occupants and to provide “ride-down” by gradually decelerating the child as the vehicle deforms and absorbs energy from crash forces. For this to work properly, the right seat must be selected for the child’s height, weight, and developmental levels.
Read more information on child passenger safety and choosing the right seat here.
Facts About Child Safety Seats
- Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13.
- In 2024, nine children under the age of six were occupants of a vehicle involved in a traffic collision in South Carolina. Only 5 of the 9 children were in a child safety seat.
- In 2017, 325 children under the age of 5 were saved by car seats.
- South Carolina law requires children to be in an approved safety seat until they reach the age of 8 or a height of 57 inches.