15% of us don't buckle up when in back seat, IDOT says

Illinois law has required back-seat passengers to wear seat belts since 2012.

An Illinois Department of Transportation survey shows nearly 85 percent of the state's back-seat passengers are buckling up, an increase of 7 percentage points since 2013. But it's still a lower rate than the 95 percent wearing seat belts in front seats.

IDOT released the results Friday. The September survey shows Chicago and Cook County have lower rates of buckled passengers in back seats compared to the state average. In Chicago, about 70 percent of rear-seat passengers were buckling up. In Cook County, about 82 percent wore seat belts in the back seat.

The surveyed Illinois counties of Champaign, Bureau, Effingham, Rock Island, Madison and St. Clair collectively did well, with nine out of 10 rear-seat passengers buckled.