FMCSA Announces Proposed Rule to Require Truck Occupants to Wear Safety Belts
Although federal rules have long required all commercial drivers to use safety belts, the agency said the new proposed rule would hold both trucking companies and commercial truck drivers responsible for ensuring that any passengers riding in the truck cab also are buckled up.
The agency said it will accept comments on the proposal for 45 days after it has been published in the Federal Register.
“This proposal would increase the safety, not only of passengers, but also of CMV drivers whose control of the vehicle would not be affected by unsecured passengers potentially thrown about the cab as a result of emergency steering or braking maneuvers,” the proposal said. “Occupants would include instructors, evaluators or any other personnel who might be seated in a property-carrying CMV, regardless of their status.”
FMCSA said that about 275 occupants of large trucks killed in crashes in 2013 were not wearing their seat belts, according to 2013 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
NHTSA’s 2013 data also showed that only 17 of 348 non-driver occupants wearing lap or shoulder belts were killed in fatal crashes. By comparison, 30 of the 122 non-driver occupants of large trucks not wearing safety belts were killed.
“The fatality rate was thus far lower among passengers who wore seat belts,” the agency said. “FMCSA believes that some of these fatalities could have been prevented if this regulation had been in place.
The agency acknowledged it does not know how many trucks carry passengers, or how many of those passengers fail to use existing seat belts.
“However, given that the only cost of the proposal is the negligible amount of time needed for occupants to buckle their seat belts, the rule would obviously benefit motor carrier employees and passengers,” the announcement said. “Seat belts have been proved to save lives, and while the specific number of CMV-related fatalities that could be avoided is unclear, FMCSA believes motor carriers’ and drivers’ compliance with a final rule requiring the use of seat belts by non-driver occupants would save lives.”
