The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to require passengers riding in property-carrying commercial motor vehicles to use safety belts.

Federal rules have long required all commercial drivers to use safety belts (49 CFR 392.16). This proposed rule would hold both trucking companies and commercial truck drivers responsible for ensuring that any passenger riding in the truck cab are also buckled up.  

Approximately 275 occupants of large trucks killed in crashes in 2013 were not wearing their safety belts, according to the most recently available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NHTSA already requires vehicle manufacturers to install both driver and passenger seat belts in commercial vehicles (over 10,000 pounds GVWR,) but the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations are silent on the actual use of seat belts by passengers.

This rulemaking is in response to a 2013 petition submitted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

Read the official Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including instructions on how to comment.