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New Study Shows a 7 Percent Jump in Safety Belt Use Safety belt usage among drivers of medium and heavy duty commercial vehicles rose to 72% in 2008 according to the most recent Seat Belt Usage Study commissioned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Other key findings include: 

• a rise in safety belt use among passengers of commercial motor vehicles to 61 percent; 
• school bus drivers had the highest safety belt usage rates at 89 percent; 
• professional truck drivers for major regional or national fleets showed higher usage at 75 percent, versus 62 percent for independent owner-operators; 
• regionally, safety belt usage rates for truck drivers and their occupants were highest at 81 percent in the West compared to 77 percent in the South, 60 percent in the Midwest, and 56 percent in the Northeast; 
• safety belt usage for both drivers and occupants was higher at 80 percent in States that had primary belt use laws than 64 percent in States with secondary belt use laws. (Primary belt use laws allow police to stop motorists solely for being unbelted where secondary safety belt laws permit police to ticket unbelted motorists only if they are stopped for other reasons such as speeding.)
• commercial motor vehicle drivers and their occupants had higher safety belt usage rates on weekend days over week days, higher usage rates in urban areas over suburban or rural areas, and higher usage rates in faster traffic over slower traffic.

 
FMCSA conducts annual surveys to assess the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Program—a program that provides States with guidelines, educational resources, outreach materials, and public service announcements to execute their own safety belt campaigns. Several States have already implemented one of the program’s public outreach campaigns, Be Ready. Be Buckled. to promote safety belt usage among truck drivers and other occupants. The program is supported by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership comprised of more than 20 private-sector organizations committed to saving lives and reducing injuries among truck drivers.