I was in the front seat when a seat belt broke my sternum in a crash. Very blessed that was my only injury. Only about a decade ago.
Front and rear seat belts don’t offer the same level of protection.
In a 2015 study that compared fatalities, belted passengers riding in the rear were 46% more likely to die than those riding up front.
That’s a shift from the past.
Rear-seat passengers used to be less likely to die in a car crash, but technology has erased the advantage. It’s no more dangerous to ride in the rear than it once was—especially in newer vehicles, which offer all passengers more protection than older models—but front seats are now equipped with sophisticated restraints that generally aren’t used in back.