Buckle Up South Carolina

Seat belts save lives.

One of the most dangerous activities people do daily is traveling by vehicle. While you can’t control what other drivers do, you can control what you do. And one of the safest choices you can make in a vehicle is to buckle up.

Research has found that proper use of safety belts reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and light truck occupants by 60 percent. Additionally, research has found that safety belts reduces the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent for cars and by 65 percent for light trucks.

That’s why we urge you — Buckle up, South Carolina. Every trip. Every time.

Seat Belt Laws in South Carolina

South Carolina has a primary safety belt enforcement law. Under the primary law, a law enforcement officer has the authority to stop a driver if the officer has a clear and unobstructed view of a driver or occupant of a motor vehicle not wearing a safety belt or not secured in a child restraint system.

South Carolina’s safety belt law requires that every driver and every occupant of a motor vehicle, when it is being operated on the public streets and highways of this state, must wear a fastened safety belt that complies with all provisions of federal law for its use. The driver is charged with the responsibility of requiring every occupant 17 years of age or younger to wear a safety belt or be secured in a child restraint system as required by law. However, a driver is not responsible for an occupant 17 years of age or younger who has a driver’s license, special restricted license, or beginner’s permit and who is not wearing a safety belt.

This law does not apply to:

A driver or occupant who possesses a written verification from a physician that he is unable to wear a safety belt for physical or medical reasons.
Medical or rescue personnel attending to injured or sick individuals in an emergency vehicle when operating in an emergency situation as well as the injured or sick individuals.
School, church, or day care buses.
Public transportation vehicles except taxis.
Occupants of vehicles in parades.
United States mail carriers.
An occupant for which no seat belt is available because all belts are being used by other occupants.
A driver or occupants in a vehicle not originally equipped with safety belts.

Violators are subject to a fine not more than $25. No person may be fined more than $50 for any one incident of more than one violation.

You can read South Carolina seat belts laws in the South Carolina Code of Law Section 56-5-6510 through Section 56-5-6565.

Remember — you are responsible for operating your vehicle in a safe manner so make sure you and your passengers are buckled up.

Facts about Seat Belts

Many Americans understand the lifesaving value of the seat belt – the national use rate was at 91.9% in 2023.
In 2022, more than 25,000 occupants were killed in passenger vehicle collisions. About 50% of those killed were not buckled.
In 2021 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts.
Ejected occupants are four times as likely to be killed as those who remain inside the vehicle.
Safety belts should be worn at all times, even on short trips close to home. Three out of four fatal crashes occur within 25 miles of the crash victim's home. Most crashes causing death or injury occur at speeds below 40 miles per hour.

Child Safety Seat Facts

Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13.
In 2024, nine children under the age of six were occupants of a vehicle involved in a traffic collision in South Carolina. Only 5 of the 9 children were in a child safety seat.
In 2017, 325 children under the age of 5 were saved by car seats.
South Carolina law requires children to be in an approved safety seat until they reach the age of 8 or a height of 57 inches.

Other Laws and Safety Information

Seat Belt Law (en Espanol)

Ley de Cinturón de Seguridad
de Carolina del Sur

Ley de Carolina del Sur ‘"Sección 56-5-6520." El chofer y cada ocupante de un vehículo de motor, cuando está siendo operado en las calles públicas o autopistas del Estado, debe de llevar puesto el cinturón de seguridad que cumpla con todas las provisiones provistas por las leyes federales para su uso. El conductor tiene la responsabilidad de requerir que cada ocupante de 17 años de edad o menor lleve puesto el cinturón de seguridad o esté asegurado en un sistema de seguridad provisto por el artículo 47 de éste capitulo. Sin embargo, el chofer no es responsable por un ocupante el cual tiene diesisiete años de edad o menor el cual posea una licencia de conducir, licencia con restricciones especiales, o permiso de conducir y que no tenga puesto el cinturón de seguridad; tal ocupante estará en violación de este artículo y será multado de acuerdo a la sección 56-5-6540."

Algunas excepciones: La Ley no applica a:

Un conductor u ocupante que posea una verificacion por escrito de un médico el cual previene el uso de un cinturón de seguridad por razones físicas o médicas;
escuela, iglesia, o autobús de cuidado pre-escolar, vehículos de transportación pública excepto taxis;
Un ocupante el cual no tiene disponible un cinturón de seguridad debido a que todo otro cinturón ya es utilizado por otros ocupantes;
Ocupantes sentados en la parte trasera en un vehículo de motor, menos aquellos vehículos equipados con correas o cinturón de hombro adicional al cinturón de regazo o falda; Un conductor u ocupantes en un vehículo el cual no está originalmente equipado con cinturones de seguridad.

Así es como, el 9 de diciembre del 2005, cambiara la ley sobre el cinturón de seguridad en Carolina del Sur, de aplicación secundaria a aplicación primaria. ¿Qué significa esto? Bajo la ley anterior un oficial de policía solo le podía señalar a un conductor o pasajero si se le había detenido por otra infracción. Sin embargo, la nueva ley le da a un oficial de policía la autoridad de detener a un conductor si el oficial tiene una visión clara u obstruida de un pasajero que no lleva puesto el cinturón de seguridad o si un niño no esta sujeto a un porta bebés.

Los infractores están sujetos a una multa no mayor de $25. Ninguna persona puede ser sancionada por más de $50 por un incidente o más de una infracción.

Pickup Truck Open Bed Law

South Carolina law prohibits the transportation of a person under 15 years of age in the open bed or open cargo area (no permanent overhead restraining construction) of a pickup truck or trailer, except when:

An adult is present in the bed or cargo area and is supervising the child.
The child is secured or restrained by a seat belt manufactured in compliance with federal safety standards and installed to support a load of not less than 5,000 pounds.
An emergency situation exists.
The vehicle is being operated in an organized hayride or parade pursuant to a valid permit.
The vehicle is being operated while hunting or in an agricultural enterprise.
The vehicle is being operated in a county which has no incorporated area with a population greater than 3,500; or
The vehicle has a closed metal tailgate and is being operated less than 36 mph.

The fine for a violation of this section is $25. No driver’s license points or insurance surcharge may be assessed for a violation of this section.

You can read the South Carolina Transportation of Minors in Open Vehicles law in the South Carolina Code of Law Section 56‑5‑3900.

SC Child Passenger Safety Information

South Carolina law requires children to be in an approved safety seat until they reach the age of 8 or a height of 57 inches.

For more information on child safety seats, visit our Child Passenger Safety page.

Helpful Tips for Proper Seat Belt Use

To get the most benefit out of your safety belt, you should wear it low over the pelvis with the bottom edge touching the tops of the thighs. The shoulder belt should be worn over the shoulder and across the chest, not under the arm and over the abdomen. Make certain that the shoulder belt is not worn so loosely that it slides off the shoulder. Pregnant women should wear the lap belt below the abdomen and the shoulder belt above the belly.
Even if your car has airbags, always wear your safety belt. Airbags are supplemental restraint systems designed to work with safety belts — not in place of them. Airbags help protect adults in a frontal crash, but they do not provide protection on side and rear impact crashes or in rollovers.
Fear of entrapment during vehicle fire or submersion is not a valid reason for not wearing seat belts. Only one-half of one percent of all crashes ends in fire or submersion. Most crash fatalities result from the force of impact or from being thrown from the vehicle, not from becoming trapped inside the vehicle.