At Blix Automotive, we equip commercial vehicles with a double cabin. Naturally, you want to safely transport people in that second row of seats. With a seat belt reminder (SBR), you get an audio-visual signal when the seatbelt is not fastened in a place where someone is sitting. But when is an SBR system necessary and when is it not? We explain it all to you in this blog.
Before we explain more about the seat belt reminder system (SBR), it might be helpful to first share some information about the seatbelt in general.
Seatbelt mandatory since 1975
Since 1975, wearing a seatbelt has been legally required in our country, while since 1992, this also applies to the back seat. In the early 1980s, many people were against this measure – as people had driven for decades without a seatbelt – but statistics have fortunately shown how beneficial it can be to be strapped in the car!
Because when you wear a seatbelt, you have a 40 percent chance of escaping injury in a collision. Additionally, a calculation by Safe Traffic Netherlands has shown that each year there are 100 fewer deaths and 10,000 fewer injuries because most motorists use a seatbelt while driving.
What the seat belt reminder does
Sometimes wearing a seatbelt is forgotten. Fortunately, there is the seat belt reminder system. Through an audio signal and a flashing light, the driver is alerted that a seatbelt is not fastened in a place where someone is sitting. And it has an effect! It appears that audio-visual seatbelt alarms reduce the number of unbelted motorists by 80 percent.
Legislation regarding the seatbelt alarm
In 2009, the seat belt reminder for the driver’s seat became mandatory in new passenger cars within the European Union. And on September 1, 2019, a new rule took effect that required the seat belt alarm for every seat in new cars. An advanced SBR system must be active on the front seats of newly introduced vehicle models of each vehicle category, and a simpler SBR system is sufficient for the rear seat of passenger cars.
The legislation continues to change because, since September 1, 2021, the above requirements apply to all newly produced vehicles in the European market, not just passenger cars. This also means that vans must have a seat-belt-reminder system on the front and second row of seats.
Blix Automotive follows the most current legislation
However, as is often the case, European legislation is ahead of national legislation. At the European level, the homologation requirements are up to date, but in the Netherlands, it is currently the case that vehicles that are already registered can still be approved without an SBR system. However, this will change in about eight months.
At Blix Automotive, we want to standardize this now for commercial vehicles that we equip with a double cabin. It may currently be ‘overkill,’ but extra safety is never a bad thing, and it will be required eventually anyway. We are not pioneers in this, but when it comes to safety, we like to go the extra mile, even if it’s not mandatory right now.
