Seat belts enforcement

Vehicle accidents, death from No seat belt use alcohol-impaired driving Seat belt use laws seat belt enforcement laws sobriety checkpoints reducing blood alcohol concentration to 0.08% minimum legal drinking age laws... 

Farmer, C. M. and A. F. Williams (2005). Effect on fatality risk of changing from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement. J. Safe. Res., 36,189-194. 

There is no specific regulation that addresses the use of seat belts on forklifts. However, as explained in OSHA s October 09, 1996 Seat Belt Policy (corrected in 2007), employers must require operators of forklifts that are equipped with operator restraint devices, including seat belts, to use the devices. In addition, OSHA may also cite employers who do not take advantage of a manufacturer operator restraint system or seat belt retrofit program. OSHA enforces the seat belt issue under the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act. 

Seat belts restrain their wearers within the vehicle and, in the event of a collision, prevent or limit their contact with interior surfaces as well as with other occupants. Seat belts decrease the likelihood of serious injury or death by 40-50% (Cummins et ah, 2011 Evans, 1991). Because of their significant safety benefits, it has generally been concluded that the wearing of seat belts does not result in behavioural adaptation that would support a repeal of the seat belt laws (Hedlund, 2000 Levy and Miller, 2000 Mackay, 1985 Mackay et al 1982 Scott and Wallis, 1985). On the other hand, regulation and enforcement of seat belt laws have resulted in much more modest effects on traffic fatalities than initially forecast (Dee, 1998). This may be a result of the selective recruitment hypothesis (Evans, 1985), which posits that seat belt wearers are inherently more risk aversive than those people who choose not to wear seat belts, and, therefore, they have fewer violations and crashes. Therefore, if seat belt use is mandatory, the people who comply are already less likely to be involved in crashes than those who do not comply (Evans, 1985). Nevertheless, seat belt laws and their enforcement have resulted in major declines in fatalities and serious injuries. 

Dee, T. S. 1998. Reconsidering the effects of seat belt laws and their enforcement status. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 30, 1-10. 

Most of these objections were based on the general public s attitude to the imposition of seat belts on them. Overtime people have changed their attitudes and, therefore, their behaviour has changed. This has been achieved through various means, such as advertising, law enforcement, provision of information, etc. 

Despite their effectiveness, in the absence of laws that require seat belts, meaningful sanctions for not wearing seat belts, and consistent enforcement, some people still do not buckle up. Different study methods, and studies conducted in different countries consistently identify the same characteristics of non-users. The two most common methods used to identify characteristics that distinguish between users and non-users of seat belts have been surveys or interviews and observations. Observations are more objective, but they reveal very little about the driver (gender, apparent age, and some measure of socio-economic status based on the car value). Surveys and interviews can probe a whole host of variables, but because of social desirability they yield higher percentages of seat belt use than direct observations (Parada et... 

Figure 10-5, Use of seat belts by car drivers and front seat passengers in Finland 1966-1995. Changes in front seat belt use rate as a function of change in belt laws and their enforcement (from WHO, 2004. Original source Seat-belts and child restraints increasing use and optimising performance. European Transport Safety Council, 1996 with permission of ETSC).

Enact and enforce occupant protection legislation including the use of seat-belts, child restraints, motorcycle helmets and bicycle helmets. 

Still we must accept the fact that life involves tradeoffe that force compromises. With today s systems many of diese tradeoffs are very easy to accept For example, modem seat belts are easy to use, quite comfortable and, as Evans (2004) points out the two seconds it takes a driver to fasten a safety belt increases the duration of a typical 15 minute trip by 0.2 percent a totally insignificant reduction in mobility, but one of very consequential magnitude. Other tradeoffs encounter greater resistance. For example, vehicle, environmental, and driver management techniques for speed control all explicitly require drivers to reduce their speed, and if speed is a desired value in driving then by definition it must be compromised. Yet even in speed control some approaches are quite acceptable to most drivers (e.g., environmental traffic calming) while odiers are not so acceptable (e.g., speed enforcement). 

Providing seat belts does not mean that the operator will use them. Use of seat belts would be difficult to monitor and enforce. 

If you add seat belts, then you must enforce their use and enforcement inq)Iies safety. 

Tipover usually occurs because of operator error. As an added safeguard to counter operator error, the wearing of seat belts and the use of wing seats make sense. Despite the fifteen years of operator-seat modifications and seat belt installations on counterbalance lift trucks, the toll of injuries and fatalities continue. The seat belt may not be a perfect device that is readily accepted by operators and management, but the use of such safety devices surely contributes to reducing the numbers of injuries and deaths. The use and enforcement of these devices should be a part of every operator s training. 

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