If you drive a newer General Motors SUV, your family undoubtedly enjoys your vehicle’s spacious interior. Still, while your SUV gives your young passengers some space to move around, they always should wear their seat belts. Indeed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts have prevented more than 50,000 traffic fatalities over the last five decades.

Your SUV’s seat belts should be good enough to restrain everyone in your vehicle. Regrettably, though, newer GM SUVs may have defective third-row seat belts. In fact, GM recently announced a recall of almost 500,000 SUVs because of the problem.

Seat belts really do save lives

The NHTSA notes that more than half of the individuals who died in motor vehicle accidents in 2020 were not wearing seat belts. With this information in mind, it is not difficult to see that seat belts really do save lives. While wearing a seat belt may be restrictive or even uncomfortable, doing so is arguably the best way to stay safe in any car, truck or SUV.

The GM recall is expansive

Rather than wondering if your SUV’s seat belts are capable of protecting everyone you transport, you should check the NHTSA’s recall database to see if your vehicle is subject to a safety-related recall.

According to reporting from CNN, the GM’s recall is an expansive one. If you drive any of the following SUVs with 2021 or 2022 model years, your vehicle may have an unaddressed recall:

• Chevrolet Suburban
• Chevrolet Tahoe
• Cadillac Escalade
• GMC Yukon

Ultimately, to help everyone in your family reach every destination as safely as possible, you should stop ignoring your recall notice and schedule repairs immediately.