Use of Seatbelts

Seatbelts are ultimately to keep you safe, it is so extremely important that you wear the seatbelts provided in your vehicle so you can make it home safely. Seat belts are the best defense against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers and prevent you from being thrown from the vehicle. It is the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash.

For Passenger Vehicles: It is also extremely important to remember Airbags are designed to work with seat belts, not replace them.

Seatbelts Save Lives

Wearing your seatbelt correctly and having your seat upright, reduces the risk of death but also additional injury.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in 2021. Unfortunately, 47% were not wearing seat belts.

Commercial Vehicles and Seat Belts:

Professional drivers are no exception when it comes to wearing a seatbelt and should make a habit of putting their seatbelt on as soon as they sit down. Commercial Drivers spend more time in a vehicle than most people, which means their risk is higher.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, “ No driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle, and a motor carrier shall not require or permit a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle that has a seat belt assembly installed at the driver’s seat unless the driver is properly restrained by the seat belt assembly.”

When it comes to a Sleeper Berth, the rules regarding seat belts can be confusing given the area of space you are confined to. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has come out with a regulation for Sleeper Berth specifically. This states ““A motor vehicle manufactured on or after July 1, 1971, and equipped with a sleeper berth must be equipped with a means of preventing ejection of the occupant of the sleeper berth during deceleration of the vehicle. The restraint system must be designed, installed, and maintained to withstand a minimum total force of 6,000 pounds applied toward the front of the vehicle and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.”

Let’s work together and pledge to wear our seatbelts each and every time you get into a vehicle.