Seat belt use lower among truckers

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Truckers on Missouri roads don't buckle up as much as other drivers, the state Department of Transportation said Friday.

The agency said that while Missourians' overall seat belt usage is about 76 percent, a study conducted last fall determined that 59 percent of those driving big trucks across Missouri roads wore seat belts.

In crashes involving commercial motor vehicles, 32 truck drivers died in 2003, the agency said, and more than half were not wearing seat belts. Of all Missouri crashes that year, 7.7 percent involved a commercial motor vehicle.