I just had a visit from our OSHA/WORKMENS COMP AGENT.  One of the things that he reminded about was seat belts.  Okay, here, I go.

You should all wear seat belts.  Why?  Because it is a regulation and if you are not wearing them you will be given a ticket.  Other reason is for your safety.  Everyone has reasons why they like or dislike seat belts.  I used to hate them. However now if I dont have one on I feel naked. 

Example:  We had a driver who was involved in an accident.  He was not wearing a seat belt.  The accident was his fault.  He got hurt.  This cost the company a large amount for workmens comp not to mention the time it took him to heal.  This was a little accident not a major job.  But he wound up with the most costly part of the accident.  Granted we have workmens comp insurance.  But someone has to pay for the claim.  We all pay for these claims.  The expenses go up in the company, and leave no room for growth in either the company or the employees. 

Thus it is wiser to just wear the seat belt, for safety purposes. 

I always wear a seatbelt, whether it be in my personal vehicle or in the truck!  I, too, feel naked without it on.  It gives some sort of reassurance and a feeling of safety when I'm wearing it.  Besides, it's the law and I know alot of drivers who got pulled over and fined for not having it on!!!

As a long-time flatdeck puller in a part of the world chock-full of ragged mountains and (by American standards) primitive roads, I'm gonna hafta disagree with folks who believe in seatbelt laws for everyone. The type of wreck I am most likely to have in my job - statistically speaking - is a single-vehicle rollover. In my 30 years on these roads I have personally attended or had intimate knowledge of an even half-dozen rollovers. Have you ever seen a tractor after a rollover? The roofline comes down even with the dashboard every time. Tractors have no ROP: it would be too heavy, and drivers are a dime a dozen. Or something. Doesn't matter what the reason is. Of the ones I KNOW about, two drivers were wearing their seat belts. They not only didn't survive, they were not identifiable from the waist up. The other four guys walked, although one of them had to be cut out and left a finger behind.

I will keep collecting seatbelt tickets, if you don't mind. My wife knows they're cheaper than a funeral.

I saw a program based on a study by, I think, German engineers saying that a significant portion of the people stopped in Germany that were not wearing seatbelts were doing so because they thought in an accident the airbag would save them.

I beleive it is now a regulatory item for manufacturers in the EU now to have the airbag activated ONLY when a seatbelt is worn to try and stop this mentality.

I don't know many truckers who DO wear a seatbelt in the cab, but I have seen a hell of a lot more accidents that could be have been saved by wearing one, that ones than vice versa.

Alex

I never used to wear them until the day I was broadsided by a John Deere tractor in MS. If I hadn't been wearing my seat belt the impact would have thrown me from my seat. If that had happened I would have either went over the bank in the construction zone I was in and killed some one on the crew or headed into on coming traffic where more people would have been hurt than just me so I can say honestly that it saved my life as well as a few others.
It's a choice that people have to make. However don't think that the multiple seat belt tickets won't cause a problem. If you ever have an accident they will see that and use it against you. So it's a wise thing in most cases to wear it although I agree that in very very rare cases you are better off without it.