The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced today that the use of safety belts by truck drivers has increased significantly from years past.
Safety belt usage by commercial truck and bus drivers rose to 86% in 2016, compared to just 65% usage in 2007, according to the results of a national survey.
FMCSA Deputy Administrator, Cathy F. Gautreaux, said, “Buckling up your safety belt, regardless of the type of vehicle you drive or ride in, remains the simplest, easiest and most effective step you can take toward helping to protect your life.
“While it is good news that we are making strong progress, we need to continue to emphasize that everyone, everywhere securely fasten their safety belt 100 percent of the time.”
Since 2007 the FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have conducted this study on safety belt usage 6 different times, and that seat belt usages has never been this high. Each time the survey has conducted, the number of drivers using safety belts has increased.
The FMCSA seat belt study looked at nearly 40,000 commercial drivers operating medium- to heavy-duty trucks and buses at more than 1,000 roadside sites nationwide.
Further, the survey found that safety belt usage for commercial drivers and their occupants was highest by trucks and buses traveling on expressways at 89%, compared to 83% on surface streets.
“Regionally, the survey found that commercial vehicle drivers and their occupants in the West, the Midwest and the South all wore safety belts at an 87 percent rate. Only in the Northeast region was safety belt usage by truck and bus drivers different and significantly lower at just 71 percent.”
It can only mean good things and safer driving conditions that drivers are finding it more necessary to wear safety belts.