Illegal ‘seat belt clips’ to be completely blocked, new seat belts to be fully implemented

Perhaps in future new car models, seat belt clips may become useless. Seat belt clips are illegal parts used by occupants to disable the seat belt warning sound. Automotive safety parts manufacturer ZF LIFETEC is introducing a new seat belt. The new seat belt is expected to prevent safety accidents caused by illegal parts.

The new seat belt was developed based on the fact that the installation of cameras monitoring the vehicle interior is becoming mandatory. ZF LIFETEC combined a special thread capable of generating infrared signals into the seat belt, designing it so that the in-cabin monitoring system can distinguish the seat belt. This allows the system to determine whether the seat belt is fastened regardless of the brightness inside the vehicle. ZF LIFETEC plans to fully apply the new seat belt technology starting in August 2026.

It can not only determine whether the seat belt is fastened, but also whether it is worn correctly. The European Union (EU) has mandated the installation of interior cameras for new vehicles released from July 7, 2026. This is expected to accurately detect whether occupants are wearing seat belts incorrectly and guide proper seat belt use through in-vehicle warnings.

In Europe, the mandatory seat belt law began in January 1976, and approximately 50 years have passed to this day. In South Korea, wearing seat belts in all seats has been mandatory since 2018. However, according to the “Analysis of Seat Belt Usage Status” released by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute in October 2025, the rear seat belt wearing rate remains low.

According to data from 720,000 vehicles collected through an automatic detection system installed at the Seoul tollgate on the Gyeongbu Expressway from January to June 2025, the driver seat belt wearing rate was 86.4%, and the front passenger seat was 85.9%. However, the rear seat rate was only 28.4%. This is significantly lower compared to Germany’s 95%, the UK’s 92%, and the US’s 82%, and is pointed out as a major factor increasing South Korea’s traffic accident fatality rate.