Back in May of 2019, General Motors rolled out its new Buckle To Drive feature, which can lock a vehicle in Park and not allow the driver to shift until he or she has fastened their seat belt. The feature was included as part of the Teen Driver system, with the goal of encouraging seat belt use. Now, the Buckle To Drive feature is headed to additional General Motors vehicles for the 2021 model year.
The Buckle To Drive feature initially launched on select Chevy vehicles for the 2020 model year, namely the Chevrolet Traverse, Chevrolet Malibu, and Chevrolet Colorado. Now, the feature heads into the 2021 model year for additional models, such as the Cadillac CT4, Cadillac CT5, and several others.
The system works like this. If the driver starts the vehicles and attempts to shift out of Park without their seatbelt fastened, the system will display a message that reads “Buckle Seat Belt to Shift” in the gauge cluster display. Once the driver has fastened their seatbelt, they will be able to shift out of Park.
The General Motors Buckle To Drive feature only works if Teen Driver mode is activated. This drive mode provides several other benefits as well, such as setting speed limits, setting specific geofenced driving area constraints, and setting maximum audio volume levels.
The General Motors Buckle To Drive feature will time out after 20 seconds. What’s more, the feature can be turned off completely using the infotainment system Settings, or in the Teen Driver menu.
For those vehicle owners with new or inexperienced drivers, the General Motors Buckle To Drive feature undoubtedly provides some added peace of mind that the driver will indeed wear their seatbelt as intended.
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Comments
As with all government policies now, just enforce the law on corporations who always comply. No need to lockdown citizens, shut down every business and public space so they have no where to go. Seatbelt laws? Just mandate manufacturers do this. Taxes? Have the company collect them from employees. This can go really far
That is dangerous waters you a going on with that thinking! Companies sell a product as they have no responsibility for how I use it. If I decide to drive my future performance GM vehicle without a seatbelt which I do from time to time on low speed runs it is on me. Y’all can laugh when in the very small chance I fly out the window and break my neck. I truly expect no sympathy as I made a personal choice.
Given the number of jurisdictions that require mandatory seat belt belt laws, it’s a no brainer situation as a standard for all new vehicles sold in the United States to have seat belt bucked before ignition will properly engaged.
Seatbelt interlocks were required starting in the 1974 model year. That lasted long enough for Congress to hear from an outraged public. The requirement was repealed.
I fasten my belts when I drive. i do not faseten them to back my car out of the garage to wasj it. If some want to live with Nanny Nader interlock devices, let them turn them on. The rest of us are adult enough to make our on decisions.
Those in history probably remember the infamous 1974 ignition lock start system. Your car won’t start unless you’re properly belted, that lasted one year, besides most 1974 US cars wouldn’t start anyways..😉.
This is ideal for teens as you wouldn’t let your 17 yr old drive your CT5 Blackwing without restrictions.
If someone wants to drive without a seat belt it is on them, seat belts effectiveness is common knowledge at this point. Now if someone does not want to wear one they will be okay as statistically speaking they have nothing to worry about. Let us stop with all of this nanny state crap. There is a such thing as personal responsibility. Pretty soon people will need their idevices to tell them to wipe their behind and make sure their children have their behind clean too.
This isn’t nanny statism (yet); it’s parents not having faith in their kids. If you don’t trust your kids to buckle their seatbelts, why in the world are you letting them drive?
Kids get into situations where they make dumb decisions. You might have a kid who makes brilliant decisions 99% of the time, but they get someone in the car who they want to impress and all of that smart decision making goes out of the window.
I would be worried if you couldn’t shut some of these safety systems off but seeing as you easily can, it’s basically just an added feature which we’re forced to amortize whether you want to or not.
Parents also trust that when their kids leave the house they won’t shoplift from the corner store, skip school, smoke, drink, have sex with the cool kid at school. And yet….every one of those things happens. Teenager is basically latin for poor decision maker.
As a wise person once said “when it comes to your kids, trust, but verify”
I’m half and half on this… In a way it’s good because not wearing a seatbelt is illegal, on the other hand so is drinking and driving but I don’t need a breathalyzer ignition lock on all vehicles or having top speed limited to whatever the speed limit is… I don’t know how I feel lol.
That feature would be a deal breaker. I should not need to put my seatbelt on to reposition my car in the driveway or to back out of the garage.
Who will hook my seatbelt up for me when I use my remote starter?
My new 1974 Chevrolet Nova would not start without the seatbelt buckled. I always wore a seatbelt but my dad’s mechanic disabled the feature for me.
I think it’s a good idea. Repeating the article’s clear points is unnecessary. My second car (a 1967 Dodge Monaco) had seat belts and I always used them as I felt that they were (and are) a great idea.
I’m a farmer, and put around fields at 10mph unbuckled. If they add this, I’m cutting Loose my buckle and just sticking it in the slot and leaving it there.