VAN & LGV DRIVERS REMINDED TO WEAR SEATBELTS AT ALL TIMES

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Letter to Branches





No. 579/15
Ref: V5/15
Date: 4 September 2015


To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues

VAN & LGV DRIVERS REMINDED TO WEAR SEATBELTS AT ALL TIMES AND DON'T RISK LIVES OR YOUR LICENCE:

"Buckle Up - No Seatbelt - No Excuses"

Background

This advice is being re-issued to Branches and Safety Reps as a reminder to all CWU Members who are drivers of the importance of wearing a seat belt and to especially warn members who drive vans following the findings of recent study reports on Seat Belt Usage Rates by Drivers and advice issued by the UK Motoring organisations, Police Forces, Road Safety charities, the European Commission and the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

Research studies have discovered that the main culprits for driving without a seatbelt are commercial van drivers and their passengers with recent reports reflecting earlier RoSPA and DfT research. The reports identified that only between 60% - 70% of van drivers and their passengers regularly wear a seatbelt - meaning a staggering 30% - 40% flout the law and risk both their own lives and those of other road users.

The 2011/12 research shows that some drivers simply forget to wear their belts and some wrongly think they are except from wearing a seat belt and others feel they aren't necessary! WARNING - CWU MEMBERS WHO DRIVE ROYAL MAIL VANS ON COLLECTIONS AND DELIVERIES ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM WEARING A SEATBELT. THIS IS A TOTAL MISCONCEPTION THAT HAS EXISTED FOR MANY YEARS, DATING BACK TO WHEN CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS EXISTED BUT HAVE LONG BEEN ABOLISHED.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is warning that despite 50 years of seat belt laws, far too many drivers and passengers are still putting themselves and others in great danger by not wearing seat belts.

The first seat belt law came into force in January 1965, which saw all new cars in the UK required to have seat belt anchorage points on the outer front seats – and paved the way for far-reaching compulsory seat belt wearing laws in the decades after.

Statistics from the Department of Transport show that of the 232 car occupants killed in 2013 (for which seatbelt data was recorded), 45 were not wearing a seat belt – a shocking 20%, or one-fifth.

According to the 'Safer Roads Foundation', 2,000 people a year are saved by wearing seat belts. They say in the event of an accident if unrestrained, you will hit the windscreen, or the front seat in the case of a rear seat passenger at a force of 30 to 60 times your own body weight.

The effectiveness of seat belts as a life saving device is without question. Research has found that for drivers, seat belts are 50% effective at preventing fatal injuries, 45% effective at preventing serious injuries and 25% effective at preventing minor injuries.

It also found for front seat passengers, seat belts are 45% effective at preventing fatal or serious injuries, and 20% effective at preventing minor injuries.

Quite apart from safety factors, drivers caught without a seat belt face on-the-spot fines of £100 and three penalty points. If prosecuted, the maximum fine is £500.

Back in 1965 all new cars sold were required to have seat belt anchorage points for the front outer seats. In 1967 the law was changed so all new cars were required to have seat belts fitted. In 1968, seat belts were required to be retro-fitted to all cars sold from 1965. The biggest development in seat belt development came in 1983 when it became compulsory for front seat occupants to wear one. In 1989 it became compulsory for all children under 14 to wear a seat belt in the rear, and finally in 1991 it was required that all rear seat occupants wear a seat belt. After the 1983 law was passed, there was an immediate 25% reduction in driver fatalities and a 29% reduction in fatal injuries among front seat passengers.

Despite the established facts, the 2013 statistics show there is still a section of the driving population that continues to ignore the law, despite it being in place for more than three decades. The biggest problem is complacency. Quite simply people feel it will never happen to them. They think if they are driving locally and at a low speed they will be OK. Statistics show that many accidents not only take place at low speeds but also within a few miles of from where the vehicle is based – so drivers are mistaken if they think that makes them safer.

Although putting on a seat belt is habitual to many drivers today, evidence from the DfT’s 'THINK!’ campaign has found that people are less likely to belt up on short or familiar journeys (like local collection and delivery rounds). The trouble is if drivers are not wearing a seat belt and find themselves heading towards an accident, it is far too late to do anything about it.

The CWU Health, Safety & Environment Department will continue to support the calls for continued campaigning by Government, Police and road safety bodies to ensure the issue of wearing seatbelts remains a priority road safety message.

We in the CWU, all Representatives, especially Health and Safety Reps need to keep spreading the message on seat belt use. And if members don’t take heed of it, they may end up as a Department of Transport accident statistic.

Key Messages:

Estimates indicate that considerable casualty savings could be achieved if more vehicle occupants wore seat belts.
Wearing a seatbelt is the single most important thing you can do to ensure your safety when travelling in a motor vehicle. 
Seat belt wearing is estimated to save over 2000 lives in the UK every year.
Since the seatbelt law was introduced in 1983, 50,000 lives have been saved through motorists wearing them. 
Despite the facts, there is a persistent minority of drivers, including some Royal Mail Drivers who continue to ignore the rules and advice, putting themselves and others at risk of being killed or seriously injured. 
If every driver followed basic rules and advice we could see a significant reduction in deaths and serious injuries.

Seat Belt Survey Results:

Car Drivers wearing Seat Belts - London 89% National 92%
Van Drivers Wearing Seat Belts - London 61% National 69%

Royal Mail Drivers:

There is no Seat Belt exemption for Royal Mail drivers whatsoever, and contrary to some people’s opinions there is no exemption for short trip collection or delivery drivers! 
 
With the recent introduction by Royal Mail of more Car Derived Vans (CDVs) / Shared Van delivery Routes during the introduction of new delivery methods revisions a significant number of drivers have been caught without a seatbelt on and have received a Fixed Penalty Notice fine of £100 and 3 Penalty Points. If the case goes to court then a Maximum Fine of £500 applies.

The only time a Driver is exempt from wearing a seat belt is if:

The driver is reversing, or supervising a learner driver who is reversing.
The vehicle is being used for Police or fire and rescue services.
The driver is driving a goods vehicle on deliveries that is travelling no more than 50 metres between stops.
The driver is a licenced taxi driver who is 'plying for hire' or carrying passengers.

Clearly the above does not apply to Royal Mail Drivers. A doctor may decide that an individual under certain medical circumstances may be exempted from wearing a seat belt on medical grounds. If so, they will issue a 'Certificate of Exemption from Compulsory Seat Belt Wearing', which must be kept in the vehicle and shown to the Police if stopped. Individuals will need to tell their employer and their private car insurer that they're travelling without a seat belt. Royal Mail may decide that individuals with certain medical conditions are not fit to drive their commercial vehicles.

Seatbelts Save Lives:

Seatbelts Save 2000 lives a year. A driver is twice as likely to die in a crash if they don’t wear a seat belt. Seat belts reduce the risk of dying in a 30mph crash by 60 per cent. Every day someone dies because they do not think they always need to use a seat belt. THEY DO! This tragic waste could be avoided if everyone took the simple step of belting up every time they got in a vehicle. That's why the DfT run hard-hitting campaigns which highlight the injuries drivers are likely to receive if they are involved in a collision when not using a seatbelt – even at low speeds. These campaigns, along with the fixed penalty fines for not using a seatbelt are aimed at fewer people needlessly getting killed on our roads.

Seat Belt Offence Penalties:       

Quite apart from safety factors, drivers caught by the Police without a seat belt on face:

A £500 fine if the case goes to court.
A fixed penalty £100 fine.
Three penalty points will be endorsed on the drivers licence.

WARNING

Recent safety checks and inspections of Royal Mail vehicles in several yards, in several parts of the UK have discovered that drivers had been driving without seatbelts on and had 'connected' or 'secured' the seat belt buckle, prior to getting into the vehicle in order to 'bypass' or 'over-ride' the sensors and audio safety device (warnings). The drivers concerned had then sat on the seat belt or passed it behind the seat with the purposeful intention of avoiding wearing it. This places any driver doing this:-

Firstly, in breach of Royal Mail's Safety Standard/Policy.
Secondly, in breach of the Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) Regulations 1993.
Thirdly, in breach of Section 8 of the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 "Duty not to interfere with or misuse things provided pursuant to certain provisions." No person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety or welfare in pursuance of any of the relevant statutory provisions.
Finally, in breach of Section 14(1) of the Management of Health and Safety At Work Regulations 1999 "Employees Duties." Every employee shall use any safety device provided to him by his employer in accordance both with any training in the use of the equipment concerned which has been received by him and the instructions respecting that use which have been provided to him by the said employer in compliance with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon that employer by or under the relevant statutory provisions.

CWU MEMBERS WHO DRIVE ROYAL MAIL VANS ON COLLECTIONS AND DELIVERIES ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM WEARING A SEATBELT. THIS IS A TOTAL MISCONCEPTION THAT HAS EXISTED FOR MANY YEARS, DATING BACK TO WHEN CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS EXISTED BUT HAVE LONG BEEN ABOLISHED.

Advice

Wear your Seat Belt at All Times!
No Seatbelt No Excuse

IMPORTANT: WOULD ALL CWU ASRs and WSRs ENSURE THAT OUR DRIVING MEMBERS GET THIS MESSAGE

References:                           

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... eport-2013
2. http://www.saferroads.org/advice/drivers/seatbelts/
3. http://www.roadsafetyobservatory.com/Ke ... seat-belts
4. http://think.direct.gov.uk/seat-belts.html

Yours sincerely
 
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer





Attachment:

Seat Belts Save Lives - Buckle Up Every Time Poster.





                
CWU - Raising awareness of the potential consequences of not wearing a seat belt!

[wannabeek]

'The only time a Driver is exempt from wearing a seat belt is if:

The driver is reversing, or supervising a learner driver who is reversing.
The vehicle is being used for Police or fire and rescue services.
The driver is driving a goods vehicle on deliveries that is travelling no more than 50 metres between stops.
The driver is a licenced taxi driver who is 'plying for hire' or carrying passengers.

Clearly the above does not apply to Royal Mail Drivers.'


Erm... doesn't it? When doing a rural delivery there's usually a great deal of driving of less than 50 metres to the next stop, I reckon at least 30% of every rural delivery I know is just stop/start to the next house 20 to 30 metres down the lane. Did the person writing that have any idea what some of us do all day every day? Probably not.

Also, if that exemption does not describe a Royal Mail Driver on delivery, then who is it describing? I can't imagine any other delivery person having to stop so regularly down a road.

[POSTMAN]

Needs to be redone...

This advice is being re-issued to Branches and Safety Reps as a reminder to all CWU Members who are thick as f***ing s**t...

[DB1100]

Goods vehicles means HGV or LGV as it is now.

[wannabeek]

Thought that was applicable to the category N2 goods vehicle. We drive category N1 on deliveries, which is a goods vehicle up to and not exceeding the limit of a LGV. My memory may be completely wrong tho so assume I'm talking rubbish until a cleverer person says something. Afraid this is a pure example of CBATG*.

(*Can't Be Arsed To Google)