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Belt up! It's a matter of life and death...

21st November 2002
Page 12
Page 12, 21st November 2002 — Belt up! It's a matter of life and death...
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• by Chris Tindall Truck drivers misconception that they are not legally obliged to wear seat-belts while driving is leading to lives being lost needlessly, according to safety chiefs.

The problem so worries the authorities that traffic police across the UK are now tackling It head on, cracking down on truck drivers who flout the law.

Wiltshire police

Wiltshire police have highlighted the scale of the problem, claiming that as many as 80% of van and truck drivers in the South and East of the county are failing to buckle up (CM 10-16 Oct). In tne past few months alone there have been a number of fatalities on Wiltshire's roads involving commercial vehicles—deaths that could have been avoided simply by belting up.

The reasons cited by truck drivers for not using their seatbelts are depressingly similar "I wasn't aware I had to wear one." says Mark, a driver for HSF who was pulled over by Salisbury traffic police on the A303 at Wylye for not wearing one. Every driver caught without a belt gets a £30 on-the-spot fine.

Mark adds: "I had a colleague who had a head-on collision in Poland. The one wearing a seat-belt was crippled with the impact. The one who wasn't threw himself onto his bunk, which saved his life."

Mark admits that he always wears a seat-belt in his car, but says he would be restricted and unable to move around in his cab—something he feels is vital for manoeuvring his truck.

Alan, who drives for a major fleet operator, echoes Mark's astonishment at the law on seatbets. He claims 90% of drivers don't bother wearing one and blames his employer for not raising awareness of the problem: 'We are not told anything. You get the truck and that's it."

Alan's case is all the more surprising, considering he lost a leg in a crash six years ago.

However, he believes his life was saved because he was not wearing a beg: lf I'd had a seatbelt on then I wouldn't be here. I hit the truck square on and I jumped out of the way. If I had a seat-belt on I would have been crushed to death." He adds that he wears one all the time in his car: "We are very strict—we have two kids."

Acting Inspector Paul Williams of Salisbury Traffic division says the problem is not isolated to his county. He realises the challenge the forte faces is changing drivers' attitudes and making them understand that not belting up in an HGV is illegal.

it's so, so sad to see these sertous collisions and realise these people would be alive if they had been wearing a seatbelt." he says. "People think we are the bad guys and I can understand that, but I have lost count of the number of bodies I have seen over the years."

Every driver

But not every driver fails to recognise the importance of wearing a seat-belt. Stanley Benney, who has been driving for CM Lane for 13 years, is amazed that drivers are unaware of the law: "It just comes naturally to me. It's in the cab, it's part of the fixtures. All these things are there for safety. There's a lot of idiots out on the road at the moment."

Tags

Organisations: Wiltshire police

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