ATA Calls for Primary Safety-Belt Laws

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merican Trucking Associations President Bill Graves Monday asked the governors of 25 states to push for adoption of primary safety-belt laws, which would allow police officers to stop and issue traffic citations to motorists failing to wear safety belts while operating a vehicle.

Speaking at the 2005 International Truck and Bus Safety and Security Symposium in Alexandria, Va., Graves said states with such laws have safety-belt usage rates about 10% better than states with secondary enforcement laws.

ATA said its policy was prompted in part by a recent Department of Transportation survey citing truck drivers with just a 48% safety-belt usage rate, the lowest among highway users.

“We are very concerned that the safety-belt usage rate of truck drivers falls well short of the nationwide average among passenger vehicle drivers,” Graves told the governors. “I’m writing to ask your assistance to help bring about positive change.”

Graves said ATA has asked DOT Secretary Norman Mineta to allow states to increase the amount of federal truck safety funds spent on non-truck traffic enforcement.

Safety belts each year prevent 15,700 fatalities, 350,000 serious injuries and $67 billion in costs associated with traffic injuries and deaths, according to DOT.

“Recent research and analysis has found that in 77% of fatal crashes and 68% of non-fatal crashes involving a truck, the first harmful event was the collision between another vehicle in transport and the truck,” Graves wrote.

Other initiatives put forth by ATA included:

• An American Transportation Research Institute crash predictor study that evaluates and links past driver traffic violations with the likelihood of being involved in a crash.

• ATA’s tacit support of a federal regulation requiring the use of electronic on-board recorders for documenting compliance with hours-of-service rules, as long as EOBR use demonstrably improves safety performance and compliance, along with other conditions; and

• An ATRI report on highway work zone designs and their appropriateness for accommodating large trucks, including lane and pavement width and median crossovers. (Click here for related coverage.)