Minivans Only as Safe as Their Seatbelt Reminders, IIHS Says

• Minivans are particularly safe vehicles from a crashworthiness standpoint, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says more can be done to keep children safe.

• Specifically, the IIHS says seatbelt reminders should be more robust, with louder audible signals and indefinite visual reminders projected to account for a 34% increase in belt use.

• Toyota's Sienna earns top marks from the IIHS for its best-in-class second and third-row belt reminders, in addition to its lengthy and loud reminders.

As much as we love muscle cars and super bikes here at Autoweek, we know sometimes a minivan is the right tool for the job. Millions of families across the nation rely on these 8-seat bricks to transport themselves in comfort day in and day out. There's no replacement for trunk space and, believe it or not, most of these minivans can get up and go thanks to their size-appropriate, large-displacement engines.

Just as important as seating capacity and trunk space, however, is safety, especially when children are involved. And minivans have typically been known as an especially safe choice, due to the large size and ample distance between occupants and impacts.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety agrees with this assessment, noting four of the most popular minivans currently receive the highest possible crashworthiness marks. But the IIHS says one key safety factor is often overlooked in family-designed minivans—seatbelt reminders.

Seatbelt reminders have been a federally regulated safety item required on road-going vehicles since 1972, but the IIHS says the current reminders aren't always effective. In fact, in 2020, more than a third of 4-12-year-old children killed in crashes were unrestrained.

Current standards stipulate that seatbelt reminders must include an audible signal that lasts for 4-8 seconds total and a visual alert lasting at least 60 seconds when the belt is unbuckled at ignition. However, research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that longer duration or even indefinite reminders can increase belt use by more than 30% when compared to intermittent systems.

Last year, the IIHS implemented a seatbelt reminder evaluation that goes above and beyond the federal standard. Specifically, the IIHS test stipulates that the belt reminder system must generate an audible signal and visual alert on the dashboard display, overhead panel, or center console when the vehicle is moving at least 6 mph, in addition to the unfastening of a second-row belt and a loud audible alert for 90 seconds in the front and 30 seconds in the rear.