1. This work has been produced by DGL (Aust) Pty Ltd
T-1420 Seat Belts
This work has been produced by DGL (Aust) Pty Ltd
12/07/2006 Rev B

2. Before you get started 12/07/2006 Rev B
It is important that you complete all sections in this learning tool as it has been designed so that
You can abide by the procedures of our organization.
You can apply what you have learnt in this package in your day to day activities
This Learning Tool is designed to be relevant only to DGL (Aust) Pty Ltd employees and only applied whilst employed with DGL (Aust) Pty Ltd
You may have already acquired knowledge in the area identified in this package as you may have completed some specialized training. Or you may have been working within the industry for some time. Should you identify any improvement opportunities in the information contained in this package or have difficulties completing the package please contact
National Training and Compliance Manager
DGL (Aust) Pty Ltd
PO BOX 1594
EAGLE FARM QLD 4009 Ph
Fax
12/07/2006 Rev B

3. Safety Belt Use for Truck Drivers is the Law
As professional organizations representing a
substantial number of truck drivers, we believe our
organisation should set the example for the
motoring public.
We have made a commitment to increase
safety belt use in the commercial driver community.
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4. The DIRECT COSTS of not wearing your safety belt:
Medical care and disability payments; physical and vocational rehabilitation
Overtime to cover the work of a missing employee
The loss of special knowledge or skills
Recruiting and replacing personnel
Reassigning and/or re-training employees
Lost business due to absenteeism
Legal fees
Increase in long-term rates for workers’ compensation, property, liability, commercial auto, and health insurances.
Direct Costs: These are the costs that can be directly traced to a truck crash. These are some of the costs that can be incurred when one of our drivers is involved in an crash that results in an injury or fatality.
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5. The INDIRECT COSTS of not wearing your safety belt:
Lost productivity resulting from using less experienced replacements, time taken by other employees to “fill in”, or to train replacements
Operational delays and losses resulting from the absence of the injured employees’ services
Diminished company reputation
Lowered employee morale
Regulatory and enforcement actions
Inability to attract new employees and retain existing employees.
Indirect costs: These are costs that cannot be uniquely associated with a truck crash that results in an injury or fatality, but are nonetheless costs incurred by our company (and its employees) due to such a crash.
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6. The MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS of not wearing your safety belt:
Interviewing prospective replacements
Training replacements
Preparing documentation for insurance claims and workers’ compensation
Writing accident reports in accordance with company, insurance and government requirements
Managing and participating in litigation.
Management and Administrative Costs: Other additional costs that we as a company are subjected to when one of our drivers is injured or killed in a truck crash.
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7. DGL Safety belt program!
We will…
All walk the talk.
Ensure employee participation.
Implement a basic safety belt training program.
Evaluate our safety belt program.
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8. Why Wear Your Safety Belt?
In an accident you are more likely to be killed if you are not wearing a safety belt.
3 out of 4 drivers are killed when they are ejected from their trucks for not wearing a safety belt.
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9. Why Wear Your Safety Belt?
51% of truck-occupant-fatalities in large trucks involve rollovers. In a rollover, a truck driver is 80% less likely to die when wearing a safety belt.
29% of the truck drivers surveyed reported that they had been involved in a truck crash at some point in their career.
67% of truck drivers killed, who were not wearing a safety belt, were involved in single vehicle crashes.
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10. Why Safety Belts Are Effective
Safety belts, especially lap/shoulder belts, spread the stress and impact forces of a crash along the stronger and broader areas of the body, such as the hips and shoulders, thereby limiting injuries.
Safety belts, especially lap/shoulder belts, hold you in place while the vehicle absorbs the impact of the crash and decelerates.
The safety belt protects your head and spinal cord.
Safety belts prevent occupants from being ejected from the vehicle or thrown around inside the vehicle, where they can strike objects within the cab.
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11. Why Safety Belts Are Effective
Safety belts prevent serious injuries and fatalities by minimizing the possibility of truck occupants striking the steering wheel, shift lever, windshield, dashboard, side doors and windows, roof, other objects, and other occupants.
In a crash, a safety belt keeps the driver in place behind the steering wheel and in control of the vehicle, thereby avoiding or reducing the consequences of a crash and minimizing the chance of serious injury or death.
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12. Why Safety Belts Are Effective
Safety belts can keep you from being knocked unconscious, improving your chances of escape. Fire or submersion occurs in less than 5% of fatal large truck crashes.
In a frontal collision occurring at 50 kph, an unbelted person continues to move forward at 50 kph causing him/her to hit the windshield at about 50 kpm This is the same velocity a person falling from the top of a three-story building would experience upon impact with the ground.
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13. Does the Safety Belt Fit Properly?
Effectiveness and comfort decrease when your
safety belt is worn improperly.
Here’s what you don’t want to do:
Do not allow the buckle to be located in the stomach or abdomen area.
Do not wear the shoulder straps under your arms or behind your back.
Do not wear the shoulder belt too snug, or let it rub against your neck.
Do not allow the belts to become too loose as you travel. Sometimes, as you travel, additional slack may occur. For example, when you lean forward the safety belt retractor may leave too much slack when you sit back into your normal seated position. If the lap and/or shoulder belts are too loose, they may not be able to hold you in place during a crash.
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14. Does the Safety Belt Fit Properly?
Here’s what you do want to do:
Do wear the lap belt low on the lap, two to four inches below the waist, and against the thighs. The strong bones of the hips can absorb the forces experienced in a crash.
Do wear the shoulder straps across the center of the chest and the center of the shoulder.
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15. Does the Safety Belt Fit Properly?
To correct a shoulder belt that is too snug or
rubs against your neck:
1. Bring the belt snugly over your body, pull the shoulder belt out at
least 5 inches and let it return to your chest.
2. Pull down on the shoulder belt only as far as necessary to ease
the pressure and let it go. The shoulder belt will then stay in
position.
3. Get rid of additional slack, every so often, pull the belt out at least
five inches and let go. Slack is automatically removed. Check
your owner’s manual for detailed instructions on the amount of
slack considered safe for that model.
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16. Maintain Your Safety Belt!
Inspect you safety belt just as you perform regular inspections of many equipment items on your truck, such as brakes, tires, etc.
Make it a part of your routine to periodically examine your safety belt equipment to be sure it still functions correctly and there are not worn or broken components that either need repair or replacement. 
Be sure to consult the truck operator's manual for safety belt care and maintenance tips.
Have the fleet service department inspect your safety belt equipment during each periodic scheduled truck maintenance session.
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17. Your Family and Your Community Depend On You!
Refusing to use your safety belt is like refusing a free insurance policy.
If you feel restricted by a safety belt, imagine how you might feel if you were restricted to a hospital bed or wheelchair because you chose not to wear a safety belt.
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18. Your Family and Your Community Depend On You!
You should also consider how your family might be impacted if
you were unbuckled and involved in a crash.
What would my family do without me?
Will my employer’s health and workers’ compensation insurance cover me if I’m in violation of my company’s safety belt policy?
In addition to any injuries that I might experience, what kind of disciplinary action will I be subjected?
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19. Safety belts are uncomfortable and restrict movement.
MYTH 1
Safety belts are uncomfortable and restrict movement.
FACT
Many drivers do not find wearing safety belts to be uncomfortable or restrictive of their movements. Once they correctly adjust the seat, lap and should belt, most drivers find that discomfort and restrictive movement can be alleviated.
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20. MYTH 2
Wearing a safety belt is a personal decision that doesn't affect anyone else.
FACT
Not wearing a safety belt can certainly affect your family and loved ones. It can affect other motorists since wearing a safety belt can help you avoid losing control of your truck in a crash. It's also the Law; Federal regulations require commercial vehicle drivers to buckle up. Safety belts are a driver’s last line of defense in a crash.
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21. Safety belts prevent your escape from a burning or submerged vehicle.
MYTH 3
Safety belts prevent your escape from a burning or submerged vehicle.
FACT
Safety belts can keep you from being knocked unconscious, improving your chances of escape. Fire or submersion occur in less than 5% of fatal large truck crashes.
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22. MYTH 4
It’s better to be thrown clear of the wreckage in the event of a crash.
FACT
An occupant of a vehicle is four times as likely to be fatally injured when thrown from the vehicle.
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23. It takes too much time to fasten your safety belt 20 times a day.
MYTH 5
It takes too much time to fasten your safety belt 20 times a day.
FACT
Buckling up takes about three seconds. Even buckling up 20 times a day requires only one minute.
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24. Good truck drivers don't need to wear safety belts.
MYTH 6
Good truck drivers don't need to wear safety belts.
FACT
Good drivers usually don't cause collisions, but it's possible that during your career you will be involved in a crash caused by a bad driver, bad weather, mechanical failure, or tire blowout. Wearing a safety belt prevents injuries and fatalities by preventing ejection, and by protecting your head and spinal cord.
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25. A large truck will protect you. Safety belts are unnecessary.
MYTH 7
A large truck will protect you. Safety belts are unnecessary.
FACT
Drivers of large trucks die every year in truck crashes
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26. Safety belts aren't necessary for low-speed driving.
MYTH 8
Safety belts aren't necessary for low-speed driving.
FACT
In a frontal collision occurring at 50 kph, an unbelted person continues to move forward at 50 kph causing him/her to hit frontal interior components (such as the steering wheel, instrument panel, or windshield) at about 50 kph. This is the same velocity a person falling from the top of a three-story building would experience upon impact with the ground.
12/07/2006 Rev B

27. A lap belt offers sufficient protection.
MYTH 9
A lap belt offers sufficient protection.
FACT
The lap and shoulder belt design has been proven to hold a driver securely behind the wheel in the event of a crash, greatly increasing the driver's ability to maintain control of the vehicle and minimizing the chance for serious injury or death.
12/07/2006 Rev B

28. Test your knowledge
Through the following slides you will be asked an number of questions to show that you have understood the content of this learning tool
Please record your answer on the training form F-260.
You will be required to submit the answers to the DGL HSEQ unit
11/14/2018

29. Question 1 In a crash, being thrown from a vehicle:
a. Increases the chance of death or serious injury
b. Decreases the chance of death or serious injury
c. Has no effect on the chance of
death or serious injury
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30. Question 2
If a vehicle is in a crash and becomes submerged in water, a driver’s chances of escaping from the vehicle are:
a. Increased by wearing a safety belt
b. Decreased by wearing a safety belt
c. Not affected by wearing a safety belt
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31. Question 3 Safety belts prevent injury: a. Most often on long trips
b. Most often on short trips
c. On all trips
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32. Question 4 Besides your own safety, not wearing a
safety belt can certainly affect:
a. Your family and loved ones
b. Other motorists since wearing a safety belt can help you avoid losing control of your truck in a crash
c. All of the above
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33. Question 5 A driver’s ability to control the vehicle in
an emergency is:
a. Hampered by safety belts
b. Improved by safety belts
c. Unaffected by safety belts
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34. Additional information
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