GREENSBORO, N.C. — You're in the backseat, you need to buckle-up.
When? When your teenager is driving? When you're in the middle?
Yes. But also, all the time. Really. It's the law in North Carolina.
But a fellow viewer and Uber/Lyft driver thinks you don't know that. Harry emailed us saying he often refuses rides to people who refuse to buckle up or the parents of small kids who do not have car seats or booster. He says the passengers act surprised and say no other driver asked them to adhere to the safety standards.
His question to 2WTk was twofold: What are the laws? Does Uber/Lyft not tell riders what is required?
Let's tackle question number one: the law is simple and straight forward.
In North Carolina, the driver and all passengers have to be buckled up.
And when it comes to children, they need a seat or a booster until they are 8 years old or 80 pounds.
As for question number two: Uber has this message for every rider which says at the bottom, follow the law. It's a blanket statement, but it's there.
And Lyft didn't say it required passengers to use seatbelts but did say children must have the proper seats that fit legal requirements in your state or city.
Keep this in mind, rear-seat passengers are three times more likely to be killed if they're unbelted. This was part of a campaign Uber and the government first championed in 2018.
So, buckle up and bring a seat. It's the law no matter what vehicle you're in.