More Truck Drivers Using Safety Belts

What our Tennessee truck accident attorneys want you to know

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), more commercial truck and bus drivers were found to be using their safety belts in 2009 than in previous years. Included in the study were 20,818 drivers operating both medium and large commercial vehicles. Also, 827 roadside sites nationwide were surveyed.

The report estimates that seventy-four percent of commercial truck and bus drivers are now using safety belts, as opposed to sixty-five percent of drivers who were taking the same safety precaution in 2007.

How will this impact trucking safety?

Tennessee truck accident attorneys have all too often seen the devastating consequences when driver seat belts are not worn. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the needless deaths and injuries that result from truckers not using seat belts cost society approximately twenty-six billion dollars per year for medical care, lost productivity, and other injury-related costs. The average inpatient costs for traffic crash victims who did not use seat belts, including truck drivers, were fifty-percent higher than for victims who did use seat belts.

One of the most encouraging aspects of the FMCSA study is that increased seat-belt usage will likely reduce injuries and fatalities of truck drivers significantly. Repeated studies have shown that seat belts indeed save lives and prevent injuries. In 2004, seat belts were credited with preventing an estimated 15,434 accident fatalities. If all passengers had worn their seat belts, an additional 5,839 fatalities could have been prevented during that same year. Lap-shoulder belts reduce the risk of death to the occupants of light trucks by sixty percent, and reduce the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by sixty-five percent.

Contact a Tennessee trucking accident lawyer

The Tennessee truck accident attorneys at Gilreath & Associates want to help resolve your legal issues. You can count on our caring, compassion, experience and skill to pursue a positive outcome for your case. Call us, toll-free, at 800.637.7024, or contact us using our quick form.