There’s little doubt that seat belts can save lives, and you have undoubtedly seen the “Click It or Ticket” campaign in states across the country. These public-relations campaigns have largely been focused on the non-truck driver, yet it is equally as important that truck drivers wear seat belts. For this reason, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra-tion (FMCSA) has launched a campaign to encourage increased safety-belt use among truckers.
In keeping with its primary role of promoting safety, the FMCSA unveiled a public-service announcement (PSA) in October 2007 featuring former NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace, currently an analyst for ESPN and ABC Sports, who reminds truckers that they have a responsibility to drive safely and buckle up. The PSA, "Be ready. Be buckled," is aimed at increasing the number of truckers who regularly use a safety belt.
“This ad reminds truckers that, as professional drivers, they are responsible for handling their vehicles and themselves in the safest manner possible,” FMCSA administrator John H. Hill said. “With just a little bit of his time, Mr. Wallace’s personal commitment to promoting public safety is helping save lives on America’s highways.”
Recent studies indicate that the seat-belt campaign is much needed. A new FMCSA study shows only 59 percent of all commercial-vehicle drivers wear safety belts. According to the FMCSA Web site, “The study dispels the conventional belief that professional truck drivers are more likely to wear safety belts than drivers of passenger vehicles, 82 percent of whom wear safety belts.”
In the PSA, Wallace reminds truck drivers that they are “the ones who drive … for a living” and encourages them to wear a safety belt to keep them “in position, behind the wheel, in control, looking out for [themselves] and everybody else.”
According to Duane DeBruyne, spokesman for the FMCSA, Wallace was chosen for this PSA because he, like truck drivers, is a professional driver. “Rusty Wallace acknowledges that he’s a professional driver speaking to other professional drivers. He attends many truck shows and has always had a message of safe driving,” explains DeBruyne. “We believe his participation in these public-service announcements will add a great deal to the ongoing work of FMCSA’s safety-belt coalition, which is focused entirely on saving lives.”
Wearing a seat belt not only makes sense from a safety standpoint, but law requires it, too. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) require CMV drivers to wear safety belts. Section 392.16 of the FMCSR states, “A commercial motor vehicle which has a safety-belt assembly installed at the driver’s seat shall not be driven unless the driver has properly restrained himself/herself with the safety-belt assembly.” Furthermore, according to Section 393.93 of the FMCSR, seat belts are required on trucks, truck tractors and buses manufactured on or after Jan. 1, 1965.
The FMCSA campaign goes beyond the legal aspects, though, and focuses on what can happen if truckers do not buckle up. “In 2006, the most recent year that figures are available, more than 700 commercial truck drivers were killed in crashes. Almost half – 314 – were not wearing safety belts,” says DeBruyne.
Similarly, in 2005, 696 commercial truck drivers were killed in crashes. Of those, 303 were not wearing seat belts. Additionally, 176 of the drivers who died in truck crashes were ejected, and 136 of these drivers were not wearing safety belts. The numbers are clear: Safety belts can save lives, which is why the FMCSA is running this campaign.
As part of the campaign the FMCSA has published a fact sheet and brochure outlining nine myths about safety belts for truck drivers.
