DLN Takes on BIG TRUCKS

The Interstate-80 corridor spanning across southern Wyoming is one of the busiest roadways in the nation for commercial motor vehicle traffic.  This bulk of traffic also means the same stretch of I-80 has some of the most injuries and fatalities for truck drivers on a single roadway section.  While the crashes are caused by a number of variables, the injuries and fatalities are often a result of the drivers not wearing their seat belts, despite the Federal law requiring seat belt use in all commercial trucks.  From November 2002 until the end of March 2007, there were 49 fatal truck crashes involving as many fatalities.  During the same time frame, 574 injury crashes occurred resulting in 583 fatalities.

DLN Consulting, Inc. was contracted by the Wyoming Highway Patrol's Commercial Motor Carrier Division to conduct a seat belt survey of commercial motor vehicles to determine the actual seat belt usage rate of truckers traveling the I-80 corridor.  Observations were made at eight pre-selected sites within the five highest crash areas along the roadway.  All sites were observed nine times over a period of three days.  Drivers were observed for seat belt use in nine categories of commercial motor vehicles (all triple-axle vehicles.)  All observations occurred at truck stops or rest areas, where these types of vehicles congregate and could easily be observed.

The general trends indicated that drivers of commercial motor vehicles traveling through Wyoming tend to wear seat belts more often in trucks hauling double-trailers and double-tankers.  Female drivers were wearing their seat belts more often than were their male counterparts.  Drivers in trucks observed at rest areas were more inclined to be wearing seat belts than those observed at truck stops.

For this survey, observers tracked 2,332 vehicles and drivers at the eight sites within the five designated high-crash road segments.  The data indicated that 58.1 percent of the drivers were observed wearing seat belts.