Seatbelts reduce US truck deaths
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• Seatbelts in HGVs could reduce the number of truck drivers who die in head-on crashes by around 45%, according to statistics just released in the US.
Seatbelt use among American truck drivers has risen from 6% to about 45% since 1984, and according to a report in American trucking journal Transport Topics, 88% of the truck drivers killed there had not been wearing safety belts.
The number of HGVs involved in accidents is on the up, says Kenneth Campbell of the Center for National Truck Statistics, University of Michigan.
Many European truck manufacturers offer seatbelts as an option but there is still a reluctance by many drivers to wear them. Most feel that a safety belt restricts movement and can be uncomfortable, particularly on an airsuspended seat.
Volvo has been fitting seat belts to all its UK trucks for the past six months. "Because of our reputation for safety, we couldn't do anything else," it says. Scania provides belts as standard on its Topline cabs; they are seat-mounted to avoid the jarring effect of wall-mounted seatbelts on an air suspended seat.
Renault offers seatbelts on the AE's cab as an £80 option, Fears have been expressed about the danger of the AE's large windscreen in a crash if the driver is not wearing a seatbelt but Renault says demand is not sufficient to fit them as standard.