<P> All provinces in Canada have primary enforcement seat belt laws . In 1976, Ontario was the first province to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seat belts . </P> <P> In the United Kingdom, seat belts must be worn at all times if they are fitted to a vehicle unless reversing . Passengers may be exempt from wearing a seat belt for different reasons . Since September 18, 2006, children travelling in the UK must also use an appropriate child seat in addition to the standard seat belt, unless they are 12 years old and / or have reached at least 135 centimetres (53 in) in height . </P> <P> In the UK, a requirement for anchorage points was introduced in 1965, followed by the requirement in 1968 to fit three - point belts in the front outboard positions on all new cars and all existing cars back to 1965 . Successive UK Governments proposed, but failed to deliver, seat belt legislation throughout the 1970s . Front seat belts were compulsory equipment on all new cars registered in the UK from 1972, although it did not become compulsory for them to be worn until 1983 . Rear seat belts were compulsory equipment from 1986 and became compulsory for them to be worn in 1991 . However, it has never been a legal requirement for cars registered before those dates to be fitted with seat belts . In one such attempt in 1979 similar claims for potential lives and injuries saved were advanced . William Rodgers, then Secretary of State for Transport in the Callaghan Labour Government (1976--1979), stated: "On the best available evidence of accidents in this country - evidence which has not been seriously contested - compulsion could save up to 1000 lives and 10,000 injuries a year ." </P> <P> In the United States, seat belt legislation varies by state . The state of Wisconsin introduced legislation in 1961 requiring seat belts to be fitted to the front outboard seat positions of cars . Seat belts have been mandatory equipment since the 1968 model year per Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 . </P>

When did it become law to wear seat belts in the uk