A shocking “only half of Swedish truck drivers are using seat-belts,” according to a recent survey – but this situation is not reflective of NZ, says Forum boss
A survey of 700 Swedish truck drivers has revealed that only half of those surveyed used seatbelts when driving their truck, while almost all wore them driving a car.
Earlier this year, during the AUSTRANS truck safety campaign in NZ and Australia – 117 seat-belt penalties were issued, which a police spokesperson says are more than there should be: “Given the simplicity of putting a belt on.”
The shock Swedish survey result, conducted by Sweden’s NTF road safety organisation, was based on observations of over 700 truck drivers and interviews with more than 200 between 2011 and 2013.
The results are in contrast with Sweden’s image as a transport and road safety innovator – Nils Bohlin, a Volvo engineer, invented the three-point seatbelt, and a Swedish auto maker, Saab, introduced the world’s first seatbelts as standard in 1958.
Among the reasons given by Swedish truckies for not wearing seatbelts in the truck was that it was difficult, inconvenient and/or time-consuming, the survey reported.
Carl Johan Almqvist, traffic & product safety director Volvo Trucks, says that: “Safety belts can spell the difference between life and death and these excuses are not credible.
“If more road users wore safety belts, more than 7000 lives would be saved a year in the EU alone. Professional drivers must set an example.”
A new World Health Organisation (WHO) report says that the chances of surviving a serious road accident are doubled if the driver or passenger uses a safety belt.
(See WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013 http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2013/en/index.html )
Seat belt legislation exists in 111 countries, and since 2006, there has been EU wide compulsory belt use legislation for both cars and trucks. The surprise findings may be down to how long it has been compulsory in Sweden for truckies to be belted-up.
Ken Shirley, ceo of the NZ Road Transport Forum, says he is confident that operators and drivers here have a different mind-set.
“New Zealand has a comparatively long legislative history around seat-belt use so it is unlikely these Swedish figures are reflective of how New Zealand drivers and haulage companies operate,” Shirley says.
During the May trans-Tasman Operation AUSTRANS, a total of 2013 infringement notices issued, including the 117 seat-belt penalties and 16 roadside cautions given. A police spokesperson says, however, this should be viewed in context against the total of 4185 vehicles checked.
Of greater concern to police were the 580 infringements, issued for mechanical defects and faults, and 385 offences for excess loading, exceeding weight limits and dimensions and log-book related offences.
