ORLANDO, Fla. — The extent of your injuries when getting into a crash may depend on where you’re sitting in a car.

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Florida Department of Transportation statistics from 2029 show Florida’s seatbelt rate was 89.8%.

While there’s no question that seatbelts save live, new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said, in a lot of vehicles, where you sit plays a role.

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The institute said in vehicles from model year 2007 onward, the risk of a fatal injury is 46% higher for belted occupants in the rear seat than in the front seat.

The agency stresses this isn’t because the rear seat has become less safe, but because restraint technologies have only improved in the front seat.

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They looked to see if the restraints would prevent the excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest, abdomen or thigh – the injuries most commonly seen in rear-seat passengers.

IIHS said the last time they did this test with just a crash test dummy, it led to safety technologies being added to the front seat to protect the driver and the front seat passenger.

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