The scope of this study was to design and implement a nationally representative sample survey of seat belt usage among commercial motor vehicle drivers, and based on the data collected, to produce estimates of seat belt usage rate for this segment of the driving population. Approximately 5,000 people are killed annually in accidents involving large trucks. Although less than 20% of the fatalities in such crashes are occupants of the truck, the truck occupant is often killed in situations that may be preventable. In single-vehicle crashes where the driver runs off the road and rolls over or hits a large stationery object, many drivers die because they fail to wear seat belts. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will use the data from the study to determine how best to allocate its resources to achieve its goal of 1.65 fatalities per 100 million truck vehicle miles traveled by 2008, and to increase seat belt use among commercial vehicle drivers. (Author/publisher)
Abstract