“NEW YORK — During the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Improving Global Road Safety, Together for Safer Roads (TSR) launched Every Seat, Every Time, a multi-year global initiative to close the commercial seat belt usage gap.
The initiative is anchored by Autoliv, and launched with UPS as the initiative’s first implementing fleet. Through TSR’s global network of fleet, technology, research and public sector partners, Every Seat, Every Time will expand adoption of proven seat belt safety practices worldwide as detailed in TSR’s Seat Belt Safety Standard Operating Procedures guide.
Seat Belts are the Most Effective Vehicle Safety Innovation
Seat belts remain one of the most effective vehicle safety innovations ever developed, with experts crediting them with saving more lives than any other road safety intervention in history, reducing the risk of death by 45 to 50 percent. The protection is the same in a commercial truck as in a passenger car. The compliance gap is not.
“While US seat belt use across all vehicles has reached a record 92 percent, roughly 14 percent of commercial motor vehicle drivers and 27 percent of their commercial passengers still do not buckle up,” TSR said. “Seat belt non-compliance was the fourth most common roadside violation against commercial drivers in 2022, with more than 53,000 citations issued. The gap is even greater globally. Average seat belt use is below 50 percent in several world regions, and more than 90 percent of road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Every Seat, Every Time is designed to close those commercial fleet gaps, in the United States and worldwide.”
TSR’s Seat Belt Safety Standard Operating Procedures
The initiative builds on TSR’s Seat Belt Safety Standard Operating Procedures guide, first published in 2024 with contributions, insights and guidance from leading fleets and experts. The SOP is the industry’s only comprehensive operating guide to seat belt safety in commercial fleets, covering training, technology, procurement, enforcement, communication and documentation. As anchor partner, Autoliv will co-author an updated Second Edition, contribute technical expertise and operational data from its global passive safety practice and help advance the adoption of the initiative’s guidance through its relationships with vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and other industry stakeholders.
“The initiative will also develop the TSR Seat Belt Safety Scorecard—a practical implementation and continuous improvement framework designed to help fleets assess how effectively seat belt best practices are embedded across their operations,” TSR said. “Built around the TSR Seat Belt Safety Standard Operating Procedures, the Scorecard will provide organizations with a roadmap for benchmarking progress, identifying gaps, and strengthening seat belt performance over time. Together, these resources will be made freely available to commercial fleets worldwide through TSR’s global network and partners.”
Every Seat, Every Time
UPS committed to serve as a founding implementing member of Every Seat, Every Time, helping inform implementation, share operational experience, and support broader adoption of the initiative as it expands. TSR will work with additional member organizations over time.
“Autoliv has spent decades advancing the seat belt to make it safer, smarter, and easier to use,” said Jordi Lombarte, senior technical advisor, Autoliv. “But technology must be matched with behavior. Through Every Seat, Every Time, we are combining our expertise with Together for Safer Roads’ work on policy and culture to drive impactful, large-scale change and help save more lives.”
A Strong Safety Culture
“A strong safety culture is built through technology and daily habits, and we live this every day at AB InBev,” saidAndrés Peñate, board chair, TSR, and global vice president, corporate affairs, AB InBev. “Through Every Seat, Every Time, TSR is helping to scale proven seat belt practices worldwide.”
Proven Seat Belt Safety Practices for Fleets
“We have the evidence, said Peter Goldwasser, executive director, TSR. “We have the technology. We have practical, field-informed operating procedures. Now we have the partnerships to help put them into practice at scale. Autoliv is bringing global leadership in seat belt and passive safety innovation. UPS is demonstrating how one of the world’s largest fleets can put these practices into action. Together with TSR’s global network, Every Seat, Every Time is designed to help proven seat belt safety practices reach fleets around the world.”
A Global Goal
Every Seat, Every Time will be supported by the broader TSR member network and global partners.
“The launch comes at a pivotal moment for global road safety,” TSR said. “Road traffic crashes claim more than one million lives each year and remain the leading killer of children and young people globally. The United Nations Second Decade of Action for Road Safety targets a 50 percent reduction in deaths and injuries by 2030, and 2026 marks the midpoint of the Decade.”
Earlier this month, TSR issued a letter to United Nations Member States ahead of the High-Level Meeting on Improving Global Road Safety, emphasizing that achieving the global goal of reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 percent by 2030 will require a whole-of-society approach—one that combines government leadership with the scale, reach, resources, and implementation capacity of the private sector to accelerate the adoption of proven, evidence-based road safety solutions. Read the letter here.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
