National Academies Press: OpenBook

Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Safety Belt Usage (2005)

Chapter: Chapter 1 - Introduction

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Safety Belt Usage. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13838.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Safety Belt Usage. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13838.
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4CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND Although FMCSA requires use of safety belts by com- mercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers, research cited by FMCSA showed that less than one-half of these CMV drivers actually used safety belts. In 2003, FMCSA completed a study of CMV safety belt usage, conducted by the Center for Applied Research, Inc. The study estimated an overall safety belt usage of 48%. Large national fleets averaged a usage rate of 54%. The rate for inde- pendent and local fleets was estimated to be 44%. These usage rates compare with a national usage rate of 79% for passenger car drivers. In February 2005, a Central Missouri State University study of safety belt use in Missouri reported a use rate of 58.8% based on 15,440 observations at 250 sites through- out the state (Depue 2004). Although higher than the FMCSA study, these rates still fall well below the passen- ger car rate. The FMCSA also reports that, in 2002, of the 588 CMV drivers killed in crashes, more than one-half were not wear- ing safety belts. Of those drivers ejected from their trucks, 80% were not wearing safety belts. Other countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom have experienced similar results and have undertaken programs to encourage CMV drivers to wear safety belts as a part of their daily operating practices. As a part of its goal to reduce fatal truck involved accidents by 2008 to 1.65 fatalities per 100 million truck vehicle miles traveled, FMCSA is seeking to increase safety belt use among CMV drivers. To this end, in December 2003, the U.S. Depart- ment of Transportation (USDOT) announced that it had estab- lished the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership (the Partnership). The Partnership is planning to conduct out- reach activities promoting safety belt use and participate in and implement safety belt-related research. FMCSA initiated this research project so that it could learn about motivating factors that influence CMV drivers in decid- ing whether to wear safety belts and about any research and best practices that address safety belt usage. FMCSA is also interested in ongoing surveys to determine the effectiveness of efforts to increase safety belt usage. This synthesis was specif- ically designed to support this FMCSA interest and its goals to increase safety belt usage. 1.2 SCOPE Appendix A contains the Statement of Work (SOW) for the research project. According to this SOW, this research project focused on five principal objectives. First, the research team summarized available information in the safety literature and in other sources on the factors that influenced CMV drivers to use or not to use safety belts in their daily operations. This information included a special focus on driver motivational factors. The literature review identified and annotated past and current ongoing research on safety belt use by CMV drivers, not only in the United States, but in other countries as well (Australia and the United King- dom were key examples). Second, the research team identified motivational factors affecting safety belt usage through surveys of fleet managers and drivers and structured interviews conducted through coop- erating associations. Third, the research team explored documented accounts and other research to isolate unsolved problems and other factors that have limited CMV safety belt usage. This explo- ration included a review of ergonomic and human engineer- ing factors in design and use or non-use of safety belts in commercial trucks, as well as approaches to facilitating safety belt use by truck manufacturers. The fourth component of the research project was a dis- cussion of techniques used by transportation managers— especially fleet managers—to encourage and potentially enforce safety belt usage as a part of fleet management safety operations. These practices were gathered from the literature review and responses to the fleet manager and driver surveys. This component also included a description of the regulatory framework that has influenced safety belt use. Finally, the research team developed recommendations for additional research to improve knowledge on motivational factors affecting safety belt usage. Throughout the conduct of this study, the research team coordinated its efforts with the Partnership to ensure that sur- veys and activities were consistent with the work of the Part- nership, especially in the area of surveys and research activities. 1.3 APPROACH Information on factors affecting CMV driver safety belt use was obtained through several major approaches. The ini-

tial effort was a review of the literature that encompassed the following: • CMV safety research, both in the United States and in other countries. • Motivational research in related fields. • Company practices and approaches to documenting and encouraging safety belt usage. • Industrial and transportation safety management in other than CMV transport modes, including commercial and public bus and transit modes. The literature review also included a review of the efforts and success of the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin- istration’s (NHTSA) earlier initiative to increase safety belt use by passenger car drivers. Although factors relating to safety belt use by CMV drivers and passenger car drivers could be different in some respects, the information in the NHTSA effort provided a baseline and starting point for this research project. The primary means for obtaining information for this re- search project were surveys. Two parallel survey forms were employed: (a) one for CMV fleet managers and (b) one for CMV drivers. The surveys included both objective and sub- jective questions. For example, there were objective questions asking fleet managers about their particular safety manage- ment practices relating to safety belts. Subjective questions addressed the reasons some drivers did not wear safety belts and the relationship between non-belt use and other risky behaviors. Both objective and subjective questions have value, but the distinction between them should be kept in mind. The surveys included yes-no, multiple choice, and 5-point scale items. The survey forms also included basic informa- tion on respondents and their carriers. The fleet manager survey was distributed primarily by U.S. Mail using a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute mailing 5 list of fleet managers who had responded to previous surveys. Other fleet manager respondents were identified in conjunc- tion with the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). Survey forms were also distributed with the assis- tance of industry trade associations. Surveys of CMV drivers were also conducted. The format of the survey questionnaire was similar to that of the fleet manager form, and many of the questions were similar. How- ever, these questions focused on the individual driver’s own attitudes and behavior. The distribution of these question- naires to drivers was primarily through the efforts of ATRI, which conducted surveys at truck stops. Additionally, the research team conducted several interviews at an industry event and at a fleet location. Survey responses are found in Chapter 4 for fleet managers and in Chapter 5 for CMV drivers. To focus on ergonomic and physical issues relating to safety belt use, the research team canvassed truck manufac- turers to identify and summarize technological approaches to dealing with barriers to safety belt usage. The staff of the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) was especially helpful in this effort. Drawing from the literature review, surveys, and analysis of ergonomic factors, the research team summarized the prin- cipal factors and presented these to help guide the Partnership in planning and implementing outreach efforts to encourage increased safety belt use by CMV drivers. The synthesis concludes with recommendations for research and development (R&D) that might be performed to further improve knowledge and enable development of practices that will increase safety belt usage. Appendices to the synthesis include the SOW for this research project, the fleet manager survey form, the CMV driver interview guide, the driver focus group interview guide, and an overview of NHTSA’s passenger car safety belt campaign.

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TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 8: Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Safety Belt Usage identifies and documents motivating factors that influence commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers in deciding whether to wear safety belts and research and practices that address CMV safety belt usage. It also offers a review of ergonomic and human engineering factors in the design and use of safety belts in CMVs as well as approaches to facilitate safety belt use by truck manufacturers.

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