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AAA Pushes To Require Passengers To Buckle Up In The Back Seat

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There could soon be a new rule for anyone riding in the backseat of a car: buckle up.

Those in favor say it could save your life.

Frightening crash test video shows what could happen if you don't buckle up in the backseat. Perhaps the worst-case scenario is the "backseat bullet" phenomenon, where an unbuckled passenger becomes a projectile, leading to their own death and possibly the deaths of those in the front, CBS2's Vanessa Murdock reported.

One passenger, Aliza Citrin, admitted to Murdock that she's been tossed around the backseat of a cab before. So will she wear her seat belt?

"Of course I am," she said.

But by law, she doesn't have to.

Anyone riding in a taxi in New York City is exempt. In any other vehicle, anyone under the age of 16 is required to wear a seat belt.

AAA says the law is flawed, and regardless of age, you should be required to buckle up if you're sitting in the back seat.

"We think that people are being killed and injured needlessly, when a simple act of putting on a seat belt would ensure they're being restrained inside the vehicle in the event of a crash," AAA Northeast media relations manager Robert Sinclair Jr. said.

He told CBS2 that AAA is urging New York State legislature to pass a bill requiring anyone in the back seat to buckle up. He said accident statistics support their efforts.

"In the year 2015 alone, we saw 30 killed and more than 2,200 injured," Sinclair said.

All because they didn't buckle up in the back seat.

Murdock asked around and found no objections to the proposed change.

"I think it's a good bill," one man said.

"I don't think anyone should slide through the windshield," another added.

"It should be nationwide really," another said.

CBS2 reached out to Gov. Andrew Cuomo too, and a spokesperson said the governor wants to make using rear seat belts the law.

Now, it's up to legislators.

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