In southern states, a pickup truck is as American as apple pie. While driving down a Louisiana road, one in every four vehicles is going to be a pickup truck. A truck allows the driver to sit up high and see further than in a passenger car that rests lower to the ground. They can tow large trailers, haul heavy material and drive across off-road terrains.
Although these vehicles may be perceived as the toughest on the road, they still have at least one major weakness in an accident. Pickup trucks are prone to rolling over when struck by another vehicle. In fact, they are two times more likely to do so in a fatal collision than a smaller passenger car.
Data from fatal crashes and state observation surveys show that seatbelts aren't something that truck drivers and their passengers always utilize. Researchers have found a big discrepancy in the number of individuals that buckle up in a truck versus a car.
Combine these two statistics and it raises some safety concerns, which it certainly did for the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. It even prompted the agency to launch a new campaign called "Buckle Up in Your Truck." The message being spread through this campaign is very clear by the name alone, but officials hope that drivers heed the warning.
Let's face it; we have no control over what other drivers do. Because we don't always have control over whether or not we might become a victim in an accident, a personal injury lawsuit can help provide compensation for injuries that are suffered in a car accident caused by another's negligence. What we do have control over is ensuring that we take every safety precaution possible to reduce the severity of the injuries suffered in these collisions, and the LHSC says seatbelt use definitely is one of them.
Source: ForConstructionPros.com, "Louisiana Launches Buckle Up in Your Truck Campaign," May 5, 2014