Truck Safety
According to recent national data, 75% of large truck drivers killed in a crash were not buckled. The need to get truck drivers to buckle up both nationwide and in Virginia is clear. A 2005 project with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration set-out to better guage safety belt compliance amounst CMV drivers and to bring enforcment as well as public awareness to the issue. An initial survey showed that 59% of truckers were buckling up. This, an alarming departure from the state average buckle-up rate of 80%. For a period of three weeks, a media education and outreach campaign was conducted. At the end of this period, the usage rate for truckers shot up to 70%, representing an increase in usage of nearly 20% in a matter of weeks. Download Be Ready, Be Buckled, a guide to running a successful safety belt campaign for truckers.
