Only half of all truck drivers use their safety belts 30 August 2013

Despite evidence that safety belts double the chances of survival in a serious road accident, only half of all truck drivers wear them.

That figure has been confirmed in a recent survey of 700 truck drivers by Sweden's National Society for Road Safety.

Most said they used safety belts when driving their cars, but only half did so behind the wheel of their trucks. Among reasons given were that it is difficult, inconvenient or time-consuming putting it on and taking it off.

"Bearing in mind that a safety belt can spell the difference between life and death, these are not particularly credible excuses," comments Carl Johan Almqvist, traffic and product safety director at Volvo Trucks.

"If more road users wore their safety belts, more than 7,000 lives would be saved every year in the EU alone," he continues. "Professional drivers should serve here as an example."

Almqvist states that Volvo Trucks is investing considerable resources in the development of accident prevention systems, but ays that as long as the human factor plays such a big part, "it will never be possible to entirely eliminate the risk of road accidents".

And he adds: "I would therefore encourage both haulage firms and drivers to do what they can to improve safety. The simplest measure of all is naturally to use the single most important safety feature on board – the safety belt."

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Volvo Group UK Ltd

This material is protected by MA Business copyright
See Terms and Conditions.
One-off usage is permitted but bulk copying is not.
For multiple copies contact the sales team.