Advocates has sent a letter to Del. David Reid, Chair of the Virginia House of Delegates Highway Safety and Policy Subcommittee in support of House Bill 2475 that would enhance the current seat belt law by including rear seat passengers. In addition, we urge upgrading the bill to primary enforcement for seat belts in both front and rear seats. States with primary enforcement laws have higher seat belt use rates. In 2023, only 73.2 percent of Virginians buckled up, the lowest rate of any state. Comparatively, the national average for seat belt use was 91.9 percent. Moreover, Virginia is going in the wrong direction. In 2019, 85.4 percent of Virginians were restrained by seat belts, but since the pandemic that number has decreased all three years for which data is available. Read the full letter here.