title: Attitudes of commercial motor vehicle drivers towards safety belts.
abstract: Despite the fact that Hawaii has one of the highest seat belt use rates for passenger vehicles in the United States, and has had a mandatory seat belt use law since the 1980s, studies have shown that commercial motor vehicles (CMV) seat belt use rates are low. To better understand this phenomenon, a comprehensive survey of commercial vehicle drivers was conducted in Hawaii to ascertain attitudes and self-reported behaviors regarding seat belt use. A total of 791 drivers responded to a written questionnaire implemented at weigh stations and distributed to various trucking firms and transport centers. Approximately 67% reported that they use seat belts "always" when driving a CMV (commercial motor vehicle), yet when asked how often do other CMV drivers use seat belts, only 31% responded "always." Interestingly, 86% of these same drivers reported that they use seat belts "always" when driving a personal vehicle. The major reason cited for non-use of belts was "frequent stops/inconvenience" (29%), and "not safety conscious" (23%). Notably, the self-reported use of safety belts is highest among operators of vans (88% said "always"), followed by buses (87% said "always") and lowest among truck drivers (only 60% said "always"). In this paper, some of the differences between self-reported users and non-users are explored and a multivariate logit model was developed to predict the odds of belt use as a function of various factors.
authors.affiliation: University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Saunders Hall 107, 2424 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eric Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Yamashita
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires