![]() |
![]() |
FMCSA 10-07
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Contact: Melissa Mazzella DeLaney
Tel.: (202) 366-9999
FMCSA Partners with Former NASCAR Driver Rusty Wallace to Encourage Increased
Safety Belt Use Among Truckers
WASHINGTON ― The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration today unveiled a
public service announcement featuring former NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace,
currently an analyst for ESPN and ABC Sports, who reminds truckers that they
have a responsibility to drive safely and buckle up. The PSA, Be Buckled. Be
Ready., is aimed at increasing the number of truckers who regularly use a safety
belt.
“This ad reminds truckers that, as professional drivers, they are responsible
for handling their vehicles and themselves in the safest manner possible,” FMCSA
Administrator John H. Hill said. “With just a little bit of his time, Mr.
Wallace’s personal commitment to promoting public safety is helping save lives
on America’s highways.”
While 81 percent of the general driving population wears a safety belt, only 59
percent of commercial vehicle drivers buckle up when they climb behind the
wheel. In 2006, 45 percent of truckers killed in a crash were not wearing safety
belts. FMCSA regulations require all commercial vehicle drivers to use proper
restraints.
In the PSA, Wallace tells truck drivers that “[they’re] the ones who drive… for
a living,” and encourages them to wear a safety belt to keep them “in position,
behind the wheel, in control, looking out for [themselves] and everybody else.”
The PSA can be seen at
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/safety-belt/rusty-wallace/rusty-wallace-main.htm.
For more information regarding FMCSA and the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
Belt Program, the public/private coalition tasked with increasing safety belt
use among commercial motor vehicle drivers, visit
www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safetybelt.
###