Seat belt use increases as ATA urges drivers to buckle up

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), 72 percent of commercial of medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicle drivers use safety belts. This figure marks an increase of 7 percentage points from 65 percent the previous year. "We must continue to educate all motorists about the importance of buckling up," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. As part of a progressive 18-point safety agenda, ATA is working to further increase the use of safety belts.

ATA's safety agenda includes the following safety belt-related recommendations: all States should enact primary safety belt laws; audible reminders for safety belt use in commercial vehicles; contrasting colors for safety belts so law enforcement can quickly identify non-users; State adoption of the failure to wear a safety belt defense; and denial of workers compensation for drivers who fail to use safety belts.

ATA's safety agenda also recommends that the federal government explore incentives and penalties that will motivate States to pass primary belt laws. Primary safety belt laws allow police to stop drivers for not wearing one. Secondary safety belt laws allow police to ticket drivers for not wearing safety belts, but only if police first stop the driver for another offense.

ATA commends Minnesota, Arkansas and Florida for their recent adoptions of primary safety belt laws. Currently, 29 States and the District of Columbia have primary safety belt laws and 20 have secondary laws.

FMCSA's safety belt statistics are part of the 2008 Seat Belt Usage Study, which FMCSA uses to measure the effectiveness of their Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Program. The federal program assists States in executing their own safety belt awareness campaigns. Safety belt usage among commercial drivers has increased from just 54 percent since 2005, when the program began.

Other key findings in the 2008 Seat Belt Usage Study include:

    • A rise in safety belt use among passengers of commercial motor vehicles to 61 percent;

    • Professional truck drivers for major regional or national fleets showed higher usage at 75 percent, versus 62 percent for independent owner-operators;

    • Regionally, safety belt usage rates for truck drivers and their occupants were highest at 81 percent in the West compared to 77 percent in the South, 60 percent in the Midwest, and 56 percent in the Northeast;

    • Safety belt usage for both drivers and occupants was higher at 80 percent in States that had primary belt use laws than 64 percent in States with secondary belt use laws;

    • Commercial motor vehicle drivers and their occupants had higher safety belt usage rates on weekend days over week days, higher usage rates in urban areas over suburban or rural areas, and higher usage rates in faster traffic over slower traffic.