Seatbelt Safety

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Seatbelt Safety

• Monthly Training Topic
• Ryder Safety and Loss Prevention

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SEATBELT SAFETY

• Information Objectives
• Participants Will Know
• What is the Seatbelt law
• The management and administrative costs of not
  wearing your safety belt and
• Seatbelt Myths.
• The information in this program comes from the
  US Department of Transportation, FMCSA
  Increasing Safety Belt use In Your Company,
  March 2006.

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY BELT LAW

• Safety Belt Use For CMV Drivers Is The Law
• Title 49, Section 392.16 of the Code Of Federal
  Regulations States
• A commercial motor vehicle that has a seat belt
  assembly installed at the driver seat shall not
  be driven unless the driver has properly
  restrained himself / herself with the seat belt
  assembly.
• The following is a US Department of
  Transportation Study
• A recent study conducted by the US Department of
  Transportation shows only 54 of commercial motor
  vehicle drivers wear safety belts compared to 82
  of passenger vehicle drivers.
• In 2004, close to half of the 634 commercial
  motor vehicle driver killed in crashes were not
  wearing safety belts. Of those killed, 168 of
  them were ejected from their vehicles, and nearly
  3 out of 4 were not wearing safety belts.

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Not wearing your safety belt is costly.

• Motor vehicle crashes of all types are the
  leading cause of lost work time and on-the-job
  fatalities in the U.S.
• In 2004, 634 professional truck drivers were
  killed in crashes.
• A total of 761 occupants of large trucks died in
  crashes.
• Transportation incidents were the number one
  cause of on-the-job deaths with 2,460 fatalities
  recorded out of a total of 5,703 fatal
  occupational injuries recorded.
• The average cost to a company per injury truck
  crash is 174,367 and per fatal truck crash is
  3,469,962.

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The Direct Costs Of Not Wearing Your Safety Belt

• Medical care and disability payments physical
  and vocational rehabilitation,
• The loss of special knowledge or skills,
• Recruiting and replacing personnel,
• Reassigning and / or re-training employees,
• Lost business due to absenteeism,
• Legal Fees, and,
• Increase in long-term rates for workers
  compensation, property liability, commercial
  auto, and health insurance.

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The Indirect Cost Of Employees Not Wearing
Safety Belt

• Operational delays and losses resulting from the
  absence of the injured employees services
• Diminished company reputation
• Lost productivity resulting from using less
  experienced replacements, time taken by other
  employees to fill in, or to train replacements
• Lowered employee morale
• Regulatory and enforcement actions and
• Inability to attract new employees and retain
  existing employees.

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Why Wear Your Safety Belt?

• FATAL ACCIDENT STATISTICS
• In 2004, 634 drivers of large trucks died
• Almost half of the 634 commercial drivers killed
  in crashes were not wearing safety belts
• Of the 168 drivers who died as a result of being
  ejected from their trucks, 3 out of 4 of them
  were not wearing safety belts
• 5,190 fatalities occurred in large truck-related
  crashes
• 67 of truck drivers killed who were not wearing
  safety belt, were involved in single vehicle
  crashes
• NON FATAL ACCIDENT STATISTICS
• About 27,000 large truck occupants suffered
  nonfatal injuries in crashes, and of those,
• 4,000 were incapacitated
• 51 of truck-occupant-fatalities in large trucks
  involve rollovers. In a rollover, a truck driver
  is 80 less likely to die when wearing a safety
  belt
• 29 of the truck drivers surveyed reported that
  they had been involved in a truck crash at some
  point in their career
• 116,000 injuries occurred in large truck-related
  crashes
• 23,000 drivers of large trucks are estimated to
  have been injured in crashes

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Why Seatbelts Are Effective

• Safety belts can keep you from being knocked
  unconscious improving your chances of escape.
  Fire or submersion occurs in less than 5 of
  fatal large truck crashes.
• In 2004, 168 truck drivers died when they were
  ejected from their cabs during a crash.
• In a frontal collision occurring at 30 mph, an
  unbelted person continues to move forward at 30
  mph causing his/her to hit the frontal components
  of the cab interior at about 30 mph. This is the
  same velocity a person falling from the top of a
  three story building would experience upon impact
  with the ground.

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SEATBELT MYTH

• MYTH 1
• Safety belts are uncomfortable and
  restrict movement
• FACT
• The 2005 Transportation Research Board study on
  commercial drivers safety belt use found many
  drivers do not find wearing safety belts to be
  uncomfortable or restrictive of their movements.
  Once they correctly adjust the seat, lap and
  shoulder belt, most drivers find that discomfort
  and restrictive movement can be alleviated.

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SEATBELT MYTH

• MYTH 2
• Wearing a safety belt is a personal
  decision that doesn't affect anyone else
• FACT
• Not wearing a safety belt can certainly affect
  your family and loved ones. It can affect other
  motorists since wearing a safety belt can help
  you avoid losing control of your vehicle in a
  crash. It's also the Law Federal and State
  regulations require commercial vehicle drivers to
  buckle up. Safety belts are a drivers last line
  of defense in a crash.

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SEATBELT MYTH

• MYTH 3
• Safety belts prevent your escape from a burning
  or submerged vehicle
• FACT
• Safety belts can keep you from being knocked
  unconscious, improving your chances of escape.
  Fire or submersion occur in less than 5 of fatal
  large truck crashes.

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SEATBELT MYTH

• MYTH 4
• Its better to be thrown clear of the wreckage
  in the event of a crash
• FACT
• An occupant of a vehicle is four times as likely
  to be fatally injured when thrown from the
  vehicle. In 2004, 168 truck drivers died when
  they were ejected from their cabs during a crash.

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SEATBELT MYTH

• MYTH 5
• It takes too much time to fasten your safety
  belt 20 times a day
• FACT
• Buckling up takes about three seconds. Even
  buckling up 20 times a day requires only one
  minute.

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SEATBELT MYTH

• MYTH 6
• A large truck will protect you. Safety belts
  are unnecessary
• FACT
• In 2004, 634 drivers of large trucks died in
  truck crashes and 303 of those truck drivers were
  not wearing safety belts.

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SEATBELT MYTH

• MYTH 7
• Safety belts aren't necessary for low-speed
  driving
• FACT
• In a frontal collision occurring at 30 mph, an
  unbelted person continues to move forward at 30
  mph causing him/her to hit frontal interior
  components (such as the steering wheel,
  instrument panel, or windshield) at about 30 mph.
  This is the same velocity a person falling from
  the top of a three-story building would
  experience upon impact with the ground.

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SEATBELT MYTH

• MYTH 8
• A lap belt offers sufficient protection
• FACT
• The lap and shoulder belt design has been
  proven to hold a driver securely behind the wheel
  in the event of a crash, greatly increasing the
  driver's ability to maintain control of the
  vehicle and minimizing the chance for serious
  injury or death.

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KNOWLEDGE TEST

• 1. In a crash, being thrown from a
  vehicle
• a) Increases the chance of death or serious
  injury
• b) Decreases the chance of death or serious
  injures or
• c) Has no effect on the chance of death or
  serious injury.
• 2. If a vehicle is in a crash and becomes
  submerged in water, a drivers chances of
• escaping from the vehicle are
• a) Decreased by wearing a safety belt
• b) Increased by wearing a safety belt or
• c) Not affected by wearing a safety belt.
• 3. Safety belts prevent injury
• a) Most often on short trips
• b) Most often on long trips or
• c) On all trips.

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KNOWLEDGE TEST

• 4. Safety belts prevent injury
• a) Most often in bad weather
• b) Most often in good weather or
• c) In all weather conditions.
• 5. A drivers ability to control the vehicle in
  an emergency is
• a) Hampered by safety belt
• b) Unaffected by safety belts or
• c) Close to home.
• 6. Most Fatal crashes Happen
• a) Close to home
• b) On long trips
• c) On expressways or
• d) In all weather conditions.

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KNOWLEDGE TEST

• 7. Safety belts can Reduce the chances of
  crippling injury injury among occupants of large
  trucks by about.
• a) 29 percent
• b) 50 percent
• c) 80 percent
• 8. In a frontal collision occurring at 30 mph, an
  unbelted person continues to move forward at 30
  mph causing him/her to hit frontal interior
  components (such as the steering wheel or
  windshield ) at about 30 mph. The is the same
  velocity as a person falling from the top of a
  _____________upon impact with the ground.
• a) Thirty story building
• b) Three story building
• c) One story building

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Knowledge Test Answers

• 1.a)
• 2.a)
• 3.c)
• 4.c)
• 5.b)
• 6.b)
• 7.b)
• 8.b)

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IT ONLY TAKES 3 SECONDS TO BUCKLE UP

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DEAD IS FOREVER!!!