ATA Applauds Continued Improvement in Truck Driver Seat Belt Usage

ARLINGTON, Va., May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Officials from the American Trucking Associations today praised industry and law enforcement groups, as well as the federal government, for their efforts to improve seat belt usage among commercial truck drivers.

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"Today's news is yet another reflection of the trucking industry's commitment to safety," ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said. "However, while these numbers are encouraging we acknowledge that there is still much more to do."

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 78% of truck drivers are buckling up – up 4% in the last year and up 13% since 2007. The agency's survey found that 80% of truckers reported wearing their belts in states with primary seat belt laws – 8% higher than in states with only secondary laws.

ATA has been a long-time advocate of safety belt use and is a member of DOT's Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership. Recently, ATA made safety belt initiatives a component of its progressive safety agenda.  

"Two years ago, as part of ATA's progressive safety agenda, our industry's leading trucking companies called for states to pass primary seat belt laws," ATA Chairman Barbara Windsor, president and CEO of Hahn Transportation Inc., said. "FMCSA's statistics show that these laws boost the rate of seat belt usage among truck drivers."

ATA's safety agenda also calls for other strategies to induce seat belt use such as requiring that belts be of a sharply contrasting color (e.g., bright orange) to allow for easier enforcement, admissibility in court of evidence that a driver failed to wear his/her seat belt,  and denial of workers compensation claims for drivers who don't wear seat belts.

"Overall truck crash and fatality rates, including the fatality rate for truck drivers, have plummeted in recent years," Graves said. "While there are many factors contributing to these record-setting safety performance accomplishments, increasing seat belt usage by drivers is certainly among them."

The American Trucking Associations (www.truckline.com) is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States. Follow ATA on Twitter @TruckingMatters (www.twitter.com/truckingmatters), or become a fan on Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/y4qwp6h).

SOURCE American Trucking Associations