By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Uber Technologies, a ride-sharing service (NYSE:), plans to remind its passengers to use seat belts. The company will do so by pinging the driver and sending them messages. This is in light of an uptick in U.S. traffic deaths.

Uber told Reuters its new feature that launches Tuesday aims to alert riders to buckle up via a distinctive chime from the driver’s phone and a simultaneous push notification to the rider’s phone.

“The intent is really just to help remind riders that they should be buckling up – every seat, every time,” said Kristin Smith, Uber’s head of Global Road Safety Policy, who added the chime “sounds kind of like an airplane seat belt reminder.”

Uber urges its riders to be more patient and buckle up. The company plans to notify riders via push notification at the start and end of five rides, as well as periodically thereafter.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), the number of U.S. deaths from traffic accidents climbed by 12% between the nine-months ending in 2021 and 31,720. It is the most fatality rate since 2006.

NHTSA believes that 90% of front-seat adult passengers used seat belts in 2021. But, research has shown that seat belt use is lower for back-seat passengers.

According to the agency, 47% of 22215 passengers killed in 2019 were not wearing their seatbelts.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, about 80% of those surveyed did not buckle up when they traveled by car or taxi.

Mark Chung from the National Safety Council was vice president for roadway practice and noted that seat belts have been responsible for saving more than 37,000 lives in America since 1975. This new feature of Uber seat belt safety was praised by Chung.