Bituminous Insurance Companies

Commercial Motor Vehicle Seat Belt Use for 2007

According to the Safety Belt Usage by Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers 2007 survey, a nationally representative field data collection program that provides estimates of safety belt restraint use by drivers and other occupants of medium- and heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), the overall safety belt usage rate for drivers of all medium and heavy duty trucks and buses combined was 65 percent. The usage rate for CMV other occupants was 57percent. In 2007, a total of 15,864 CMVs, 15,864 drivers, and 1,059 CMV other occupants were observed at 654 sites. According to the survey, the target population can be viewed as a "snapshot" of all medium and heavy duty CMVs on the road at a particular point in time. Safety belt use was observed to be higher in States governed by primary belt use laws (69%) than secondary belt use laws (59%). Safety belt usage among drivers and other occupants combined in units identified as part of a regional or national fleet (67%) was also observed to be higher than independent owner-operators (56%).

While the 2007 survey indicated a significant increase in seat belt use, the survey was modified from prior year’s surveys to include medium-duty trucks and thus comparisons with previous surveys are not valid.

In comparison, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, currently 82 percent of passenger vehicle drivers wear seat belts. Safety belts are also referred to as seat belts.

According to Steve Keppler, director of policy and programs for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), “Safety belts are probably the most adequate safety device in vehicles today. If you look at truck driver fatalities, generally speaking, in half of those deaths the driver was not wearing one and better than 80 percent of those were ejected from the truck.” CVSA is an association of State, provincial, and federal officials responsible for the administration and enforcement of motor carrier safety laws in the United States, Canada, and Mexico

To obtain a copy of the full report, Safety Belt Usage by Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers (SBUCMVD) 2007, contact Janet Kumer, FMCSA Safety Belt Program Manager, at (202) 493-0538 or janet.kumer@dot.gov.

COPYRIGHT ©2008, ISO Services Properties, Inc.

The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.