When I was 16 and just starting to drive, my father, an observant man, saw that the seat belt on the driver’s side of our 1964 Rambler station wagon looked as if it had been sat on. This was before seat belts were automatically wound up on reels.
Anyway, that triggered a lecture on the importance of wearing the seat belt, and a threat (not idle in the least) that if he ever caught me going without it I would lose my driving privileges. He did me a great favor. From then on I vowed that I would always buckle the belt on, and if I ever forgot, put it on the instant I discovered I had been driving without it.
How about the people who drive your service vehicles? Seat belts are more comfortable now. Alarm bells ring if you fail to buckle up. The law says they must be worn at all times. Yet sometimes people still neglect them.
Life and limb
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says that requiring the use of seat belts while driving on the job is a critical step that employers should take to prevent injuries and fatalities from vehicle crashes.
NIOSH says a mandatory belt use policy is the single most important road safety policy an employer can put in place. The organization says seat belts save thousands of lives every year and could save thousands more if victims had been wearing them. NIOSH estimates that belt use also prevents hundreds of thousands of moderate to severe injuries.
If that’s not convincing enough, consider these facts and figures provided by the State of Virginia, Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles:
• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among people age 44 and younger and the number one cause of head and spinal cord injury.
• About 35,000 people die in motor vehicle crashes each year, and about half of them could be saved if they wore their safety belts.
• For every 1 percent increase in safety belt use, 172 lives and close to $100 million in annual injury and death costs could be saved.
Experts say that seat belts should be fastened before traveling any distance or speed. Seventy-five percent of crash deaths and injuries occur within 25 miles of home – important to remember for contractors working in a compact service area.
The Virginia DOT also notes that drivers are 25 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured if they are thrown clear of the vehicle in a crash than if they remain inside the vehicle.
In a 30 mph collision, an unrestrained 160-pound person can strike another passenger, crash through a windshield or slam into the vehicle’s interior with 4,800 pounds of force.
Leading cause of death
NIOSH notes that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States. Motor vehicle safety on the job is an important public health issue, not just an occupational safety issue.
Employers are in a strategic position to promote road safety on the job, in turn advancing motor vehicle safety in general. Have you taken a recent look at your team members’ seat-belt-wearing habits? A little vigilance could help you save the life of a valuable team member.
