Arlington, Va.....Safety belt usage among commercial motor vehicle drivers increased significantly in 2007, according to the largest, most comprehensive survey designed to gather such data.  The marked increase demonstrates the effectiveness of safety initiatives by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and other industry groups.

The DOT survey results show that overall safety belt use increased to 65 percent among drivers of medium duty, Class 7 and Class 8 trucks.  Safety belt use was observed at a higher rate (69 percent) in states with primary seat belt laws than states with secondary belt use laws (59 percent).  Additionally, drivers of units identified as parts of fleets were more likely (67 percent) to regularly wear safety belts than independent owner-operators (56 percent).

Previous safety belt usage surveys conducted by the DOT also demonstrate the effectiveness of industry safety initiatives.  In 2003 the survey found that only 48 percent of truck drivers wore safety belts, compared to 59 percent by 2006.

"The results from this newest survey illustrate the growing commitment to safety and saving lives among our drivers, and we at ATA are pleased our efforts have had some effect on that increase," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves.  "However, safety belts are still not being worn often enough.  Increasing safety belt use within the trucking industry is a high-priority issue for ATA; we still lag behind the overall driving population in frequency of safety belt use."

ATA's comprehensive safety initiative includes calling for primary seatbelt laws in all 50 states.  In states with a primary seatbelt law, police can stop a driver for failing to wear a seatbelt and issue a ticket. With a secondary seatbelt law, police can ticket a driver for failing to wear a seatbelt only if the officer first stops the driver for a different infraction.

Additionally, ATA is a member of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership, which advocates that all commercial drivers buckle up prior to driving.  Since 2003 when the Partnership was formed, ATA has been actively promoting the "Be Ready. Be Buckled." education and outreach campaign to the trucking industry.

ATA is also petitioning for a national speed limit of 65 miles per hour, speed governors to be set at 68 miles per hour on trucks at the time of manufacture, and greater enforcement of traffic laws against unsafe driving actions around large trucks.  Through its Share the Road program, ATA also educates motorists on how to drive safely with large trucks.

The executive summary of the February 2008 report can be found at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/safety-belt/exec-summary-2007.htm.