Federal law requires automotive manufacturers to equip passenger cars with seat belts. Forty-nine states, including Georgia, have laws requiring motorists to wear seat belts. And it is almost universally agreed that seat belts save lives and prevent injuries.
Despite this, Georgia (along with many other states) expressly forbid the introduction of seat belt nonuse as evidence of a plaintiff’s negligence, damage mitigation or injury causation at trial. This presents an interesting and ostensibly paradoxical reality.
