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Know the Law About Pick-up Trucks and Buckle Up!

Nationwide, pick-up truck drivers in rural areas are among those least likely to comply with safety belt laws.     

As an experienced car accident lawyer, also know as a personal injury attorney, I agree that pick-up drivers in North Central Florida are no exception to the national trend. Florida's unrestrained pick-up occupants, especially children, are at risk for serious injury and even death, as exemplified in the recent Green Cove Springs pick-up truck rollover accident.

Approximately 22 percent of persons killed in motor vehicle accidents in rural areas were pick-up truck occupants, accounting for 77 percent of all pick-up fatalities.  Tragically, 67 percent of those killed in rural pick-up wrecks were unrestrained, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).         

The first step toward saving lives is knowing Florida law for pick-up drivers.

Additionally, riding unrestrained in a pick-up truck cargo area is dangerous for everyone, since truck beds were designed for freight, not people.

Kids are especially vulnerable when riding in a truck bed and can be injured and ejected when the vehicle swerves or stops quickly. When riding in the cargo area, children are 8 times more likely to be killed than when riding properly restrained in the truck's cab.  Save children's lives, know Florida's law for riding in the bed of a Truck.   

The most simple and cost effective safety measure to protect pick-up drivers is to wear a seatbelt.  NHTSA data shows that the use of a seatbelt by front seat passengers in pick-up trucks reduced the risk of death by 60 percent and the chances of critical injury by 65 percent.  Safety belts saves lives-especially in pick up trucks. 

For more information please see:
Deadly Rural Driving: Safety Belts Save Lives
Rural Teen Drivers Are at Higher Risk

Florida Safety Laws for Pick-up Trucks