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Enforce seat belts or else
Page 26
Page 27
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Hauliers who fall to fit seat belts to older trucks where it would be practical to do so run the risk of being sued by the drivers If they suffer injury as a consequence. So says leading transport law specialist, and deputy coroner for Nottinghamshire, Ian Rothera of solicitors Rothera Dowses.
"If you are sending people out in a vehicle that Is not as safe as it ought to be, and they suffer harm as a consequence, then there is a potential claim," he warns. It is almost certain that under those circumstances, the employer would be held liable.
"Fitting seat belts where reasonably practical is a sensible and prudent thing to do."
The driver and passenger seats in all trucks first used on or after 1 October 2001 must be equipped with belts.
Several manufacturers fitted bets as standard long before that date—Volvo made them a standard fitment as far back as 1990—while others made them available as an optional extra. Installing belts retro spectively is likely to cost about £300, assuming that the necessary anchorage points have been built Into the vehicle.
Scania offers high-visibility red seatbeits as an optional extra on Its trucks. This makes It easy to see whether or not a driver Is wearing his seatbelt when he leaves the depot or delivery site. The belts cost £100 and can be fitted to standard driver and passenger seats on all Scanla models. Volvo is also Investigating the Introduction of high-visibility belts In the future.
If seatbetts are Installed In a vehicle, then the law requires them to be worn, says Rothera.
"It saddens me to see truck drivers not doing so," he says. "The arguments against wearing them are spurious."
However there are several exemptions. Local delivery drivers delivering mall or goods to consumers aren't required to use them, for example.
• Contact Rothera Dowsan on 0115 910 0600.