Seatbelts in Algeria: why every person in the car should wear a belt
A seatbelt protects the person who wears it, and it also protects the other people in the car. Since May 2026, the law in Algeria requires rear passengers to wear a belt when the car has rear belts.
Road crashes in Algeria
Road crashes kill and injure many people in Algeria every year. In 2025, crashes on Algerian roads killed 3,838 people and injured 37,020 more.
In the first 5 months of 2024 alone, 1,446 people died and 14,852 were injured on the roads.
What a seatbelt does
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that wearing a seatbelt can reduce the risk of death in a crash by up to 50%. A belt keeps the person in the seat during a crash.
For drivers and front seat passengers, a belt cuts the risk of death by about 45% to 50%. For passengers in the back, belts reduce deaths and serious injuries by about 25%.
Without a belt, a person can be thrown out of the car in a crash. Being thrown out greatly increases the risk of death.
An airbag is a cushion that opens very quickly in front of a person during a crash. It does not replace a belt. Airbags are made to work together with belts.
Belts matter for children too. Baby seats and child seats greatly reduce deaths and injuries among babies and young children.
The back seat is not safe without a belt
The back seat does not protect a passenger who has no belt. A study published in 2005 compared rear passengers with and without a belt in serious crashes.
Rear passengers without a belt had almost 3 times the odds of dying. Every person who sits in a seat with a belt should wear it.
A danger to the people in front
A rear passenger without a belt is thrown forward in a crash. This passenger can hit the driver or the front passenger with enough force to kill them.
The same study looked at head on crashes. When a passenger without a belt sat directly behind a belted driver, the driver's odds of death were more than 2 times higher.
So a belt in the back does 2 things. It protects the passenger who wears it, and it protects the driver and the passenger in front.
How to wear a belt
A belt protects best when it sits in the right place. The lap part goes low across the hips, not across the stomach.
The shoulder part goes across the chest and over the shoulder, away from the neck. Pull the belt so that it lies flat and close to the body.
Pregnant women should wear a belt too. The lap part goes under the bump, never over it. The shoulder part goes between the breasts.
What the driver can do
The driver is in charge of the car and of the trip. Before the car moves, the driver can check that every passenger wears a belt, in the front and in the back.
Every driver should also wear a belt, every time. This shows the passengers what to do.
This check is quick. It is worth doing on every trip, short or long, in town or on the motorway.
Each person needs a belt of their own. A belt is for 1 person only, and a child should not travel on an adult's lap.
Children need extra care. Put young children in a child seat that suits their size, in the back of the car. Road safety bodies in the United States advise that children aged 12 and under ride in the back seat.
The rule in Algeria today
Law 26-09 is the new road code of Algeria. It was published in issue 36 of the Journal officiel, dated 17 May 2026. The law took effect on publication.
Under this law, passengers in the back seats must wear a seatbelt when the car is fitted with rear belts. The rule applies only to cars that have rear belts.
The law lists the belt as a duty for every passenger of a motor vehicle.
Children are protected too. Children under 10 may not travel in the front seats. Inside the car, they must be held safely in place.
Motorcycles and mopeds may not carry children under 8.
A passenger who does not wear a belt pays a fixed fine of 3,000 DA. The same fixed fine of 3,000 DA applies when children are not held safely in place inside the car.
Questions and answers
What if the car has no belts in the back? The rule on rear belts applies only to cars fitted with them.
Can a child of 8 sit in the front? No. Children under 10 may not travel in the front seats.
Should a pregnant woman wear a belt? Yes. The lap part goes under the bump, never over it.
How much is the fine for a passenger without a belt? It is a fixed fine of 3,000 DA.
Before 2026
Before the new law, the road code of Algeria was Law 01-14 of 19 August 2001. Law 26-09 replaced it.
When the new law was published in May 2026, the press reported the rear belt as a new duty for passengers. Sources do not agree on what the older rules said about the rear seats.
Transporters, including taxi drivers, went on strike from 1 January 2026 against parts of the bill that they found too harsh.
After the strike, the authorities agreed to revise the bill. Some terms that made certain offences into crimes were removed.
In 2017, road crashes killed 3,639 people in Algeria. In 2025, the number was 3,838.
A habit for every trip
Fastening a belt takes a moment. Doing it before every trip protects the driver, the passengers and the children on board.
Before you start the engine, look at every seat. Check that each person, in the front and in the back, wears a belt.
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