What year did seatbelt laws start in Texas?

The Texas Legislature first approved a mandatory occupant restraint law in July of 1985, but this initial legislation included so many opportunities for noncompliance that it was considered one of the weakest seat belt laws in the nation. That 1985 law required use of seat belts only by drivers and front-seat passengers under age 15, and provided exemptions for people who were in a vehicle less than 2 miles from their home or in a vehicle of model year 1984 or earlier.

That weak version of the law had practically no impact on seat belt usage in Texas. Only 10.5 percent of Texans buckled up in 1985.

After a study in the late 1980s found that the lack of seat belt use was the greatest single contributing factor to road deaths in Texas, the legislature passed a stronger version of the law in August of 1989. The new law repealed the exemptions built into the 1985 law, and required everyone regardless of age or seating position to wear a seat belt. This stronger version of the law became effective on September 1, 1989, and had a very significant effect on seat belt usage in Texas—a 62.5 percent increase during the first year.