SAFETY TAKES A BACKSEAT: AAA

MORE THAN 2,000 backseat car passengers in New York were injured in 2016 because they failed to buckle up, according to AAA research released Monday. All told, 2,435 rear-seat passengers were hurt statewide — 211 seriously — in wrecks in the latest year the data is available, according to the AAA. The country’s largest automobile organization is urging Gov. Cuomo and the state Legislature to require backseat passengers to wear seat belts. New York law currently requires only passengers under 16 to buckle up. That’s out of step with 28 other states that already require seat belts for all passengers. Research has shown that the restraints can prevent injuries in wrecks. “Using seat belts in the back seat saves lives,” said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair. “Unbuckled backseat adults are twice as likely to kill front-seat passengers by becoming a projectile.”