纽约州是美国第一个通过了行车安全带法律的州，这个法律在1984年就通过了。当时，整形外科医生约翰·笛·斯兑茨把他的事业献身给增进车辆安全事项；在他的带领下，这个法律通过了。

在美国，各个州对行车安全带的法律各不相同。根据您所在的州的法律，对行车时前排座位上的人不系安全带可以处以一等犯法或者二等犯法；但是在新罕布什尔州，就根本没有对年满18岁的乘客有任何必须系带行车安全带的规定。

一等犯法就是警察有权对仅仅违反了行车安全带法律者采取法律行动；而二等犯法是警察必须对已经犯了某项行车法律，而又没有系安全带者，采取违反行车安全带法的法律行动。

坐在前排的驾驶员和乘客，每一个人都必须各自系上安全带。有一些州，比如纽约州、新罕布什尔州、密西根州等等，虽然对坐在后排的乘客强力推荐使用安全带，但是却没有任何的法律规定年满18岁的乘客必须系安全带。

坐在前排的驾驶员和年满17岁的乘客，如果没有系上安全带，将被处以五十美金的罚款。

到2007年的一月，美国二十五个州和哥伦比亚特区都把违反安全带法定为一等犯法，而另外二十四个州定为二等犯法，只有新罕布什尔州没有安全带法律。乔治亚州对于小货车免除安全带法律。

各州的法律可能随时会更改，请查询当地的有关部门的最新法律。

New York State passed the first seat belt law in the US in 1984 under the leadership of John D. States, an orthopedic surgeon who dedicated his career to improving automotive safety.

In the USA, seat belt legislation varies by state. Depending on which state you are in, not wearing a seat belt in the front seat is either a primary offense or a secondary offense, with the exception of New Hampshire, which does not have a law requiring people over age 18 to wear a seat belt.

A primary offense means that a police officer can pull you over for the seat belt law violation alone, and secondary offense that you can be punished for a seat belt law violation only if you are already pulled over for another reason.

In the front seat, the driver and each passenger must wear a seat belt, one person per belt. Though in states such as New York, New Hampshire, Michigan, etc. , seat belts in the rear seats are not mandatory for people over the age of 18, though it is extremely advised.

The driver and front-seat passengers aged 16 or older can be fined up to $50 each for failure to buckle up.

By January 2007 25 states and the District of Columbia had primary seat belt laws, 24 secondary seat belt laws, and New Hampshire had no laws. Georgia presently exempts pickup trucks from its seat belt law.

Each state may modify its law periodically, please check your local authority for the current status.