Chevrolet has introduced an industry-first “Buckle to Drive” feature that can help remind young drivers to buckle up before driving.
The company said in a statement that the new feature is standard in the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse, Malibu, and Colorado and, when active, can prevent the driver from shifting the vehicle out of park if the driver's seat belt is not buckled.
Buckle to Drive only is available through the vehicle's Teen Driver mode.
Buckling a seat belt is the number one action drivers can take to protect themselves in a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”). Teens, however, have among the lowest rates of seat belt use and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), the majority of teenagers involved in fatal crashes are unbuckled.
“Buckle to Drive is Chevrolet's latest feature designed to encourage young drivers to develop safe driving habits right from the start,” said Tricia Morrow, Chevrolet safety engineer. “Buckle to Drive is embedded in Chevrolet's Teen Driver system and is aimed at helping remind teens to buckle up every time they get behind the wheel.”
Chevrolet said that the Buckle to Drive feature in Chevrolet's Teen Driver system was based on a recent internal pilot study of a similar feature that Chevrolet offered to select fleet customers. In fact, a study conducted by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety found that the feature increased the seat belt use of adults who occasionally used a seat belt by 16 percent compared to the standard audible chime seat belt reminder in a similar Chevrolet vehicle.
The Buckle to Drive feature is available only when the vehicle is in Teen Driver mode. If the vehicle is on and the driver's seat belt is not buckled, the feature is designed to not allow the driver to shift out of park for up to 20 seconds. When the brake pedal is pressed, the driver will hear an audible alert and see a message in the driver information center that reads “Buckle seat belt to shift.”
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, according to the CDC. In 2016, 2,433 teens in the United States ages 16-19 were killed and 292,742 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. The NHTSA estimated that, in 2017 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives, and that of the 37,133 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2017, 47 percent were not wearing seat belts.
Learn more: www.chevrolet.com.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].