Seat Belts in Arizona — The Law, the Science, and Your Case

Seat belts are the single most important safety device in your car. The NHTSA estimates that seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat occupants by 45% and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50%. Yet roughly 10% of drivers still don’t buckle up.

Arizona’s Seat Belt Law

Under A.R.S. § 28-909, Arizona requires all front-seat occupants to wear seat belts. Children under 8 must be in an appropriate child restraint system. Arizona’s seat belt law is a secondary enforcement law for adults — meaning police cannot pull you over solely for not wearing a seat belt, but they can cite you for it if you’re pulled over for something else. For children, it’s primary enforcement.

Does Not Wearing a Seat Belt Affect Your Injury Claim?

This is the critical question. In Arizona, the answer is nuanced. Under A.R.S. § 12-2505 (comparative fault), the defense can argue that your failure to wear a seat belt contributed to the severity of your injuries. If the jury agrees, your damages may be reduced by the percentage of harm attributable to not wearing the belt.

However, not wearing a seat belt does not eliminate your claim. The other driver was still negligent in causing the accident. Your failure to buckle up didn’t cause the crash — it may have worsened your injuries. There’s an important legal distinction between causing the accident and contributing to the severity of injuries.

The Insurance Company’s Seat Belt Argument

Insurance adjusters love the seat belt defense because it shifts blame onto you. They’ll argue that your injuries would have been minor if you’d been belted — even in high-speed crashes where seat belts may not have prevented serious injury. An experienced attorney can counter this with accident reconstruction experts and biomechanical evidence showing the relationship (or lack thereof) between seat belt use and your specific injuries.

The Bottom Line

Wear your seat belt. Every time. It saves lives and protects your legal position. But if you were injured in an accident and weren’t belted, you still have a case. The Law Badgers will fight to ensure the focus stays where it belongs — on the driver who caused the crash.