Fleet Risk Consultants

I have begun noticing an increasing number of drivers being injured as a result of not wearing a seat belt. We are also noticing more and more drivers on the roads in general without a seat belt.

Why do drivers think that they can defy the laws of physics? Are they really that stupid?

Worse still some HGV drivers are wearing seat belts in their cars, but then don’t wear a seat belt in their HGV. I this because they assume that HGV’s do not have collisions?

The law states that if a seat belt is fitted to a vehicle, then it must be worn whilst the vehicle is being driven. This applies to all persons in the vehicle, with a few exceptions. Some drivers think that they do not need to wear a seat belt because they are doing multi drop deliveries, this would be a mistake as this only applies to deliveries between stops of less than 50 yds.

I was chatting to a Police collision investigator the other week who recounted the single vehicle incident where the car turned over and trapped the driver under the side of the car. If he had been wearing his seatbelt he would have remained in the vehicle. The really disturbing part was that being pinned by the vehicle did not immediately cause this mans death, this was evident from the marks made as he desperately tried to pull himself from under his vehicle.

If you are not wearing a seat belt there is a very good chance of serious injury or death, so whether you are traveling 1 mile or 100 miles put your seat belt on and make sure your passengers put their seat belt on too.

Nigel Grainger

Senior Consultant
Fleet Risk Consultants