On December 9, 2003, the U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y.
Mineta announced a new national public-private partnership to
combat low safety belt use among the nation's commercial motor
vehicle drivers. The announcement was prompted by a new national
study released by the Secretary that found only 48 percent of
all commercial vehicle drivers wear safety belts.
"If
you are one of the more than five and a half million truck
drivers who choose not to wear your safety belt, I have a
message for you. Uncle Sam wants you, no, needs you to buckle
up," Secretary Mineta said at an event in Atlanta. "Today,
we launch the broadest effort this country has ever seen to
get truckers to wear their safety belts."
Nationally,
79 percent of passenger vehicle drivers wear safety belts.
In comparison, the low number of truck drivers buckling up
has taken a severe toll. In 2002, of the 588 commercial drivers
killed in crashes more than half were not wearing safety belts.
Of the 171 drivers who were ejected from their trucks, almost
80 percent of them were not wearing safety belts.
Last year
trucks moved over seven trillion dollars worth of clothes,
food and everyday products across the nation's highways, underscoring
the need to reduce the impact of truck crashes.
"You
cannot be fully in control of your truck unless you are wearing
a safety belt," said Ralph Hamilton, a commercial truck
driver for Old Dominion Freight Line and a captain in "America's
Road Team." America's Road Team is a national public
outreach program led by professional truck drivers who have
superior driving skills, remarkable safety records, and a
strong desire to spread the word about safety on the highway.
The program is sponsored by the American Trucking Associations.
The new
partnership will involve the Transportation Department, drivers,
trucking companies, and law enforcement in the largest ever
effort to combat dramatically low safety belt usage in the
trucking community. The partnership will focus on educating
truck drivers about the critical importance of wearing a safety
belt. Partners will provide safety belt messages to 1,200
truck stops throughout the nation, produce and distribute
printed educational material at association events and roadside
inspection facilities, and sponsor additional research, as
needed.
"Some
commercial drivers tell us they do not want to buckle up because
they think the size of their rigs will keep them safe,"
Annette M. Sandberg, Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (FMCSA) said. "The grim reality
is that when it comes to saving lives every one of us, especially
truck drivers, needs to buckle up."
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