There is no real way to determine for sure that a seat belt would have prevented injury or not. The fact that a seat belt can cause injury or death should be enough to repeal this law. When a seat belt takes a life the family should be reimbursed by the people that think this is a good law. I lost an uncle to a malfunctioning seat belt many years ago and despise them to this day. If you want to require me to wear a seat belt you should make one that WORKS first. Next you should start paying fines for any activity that could cause injury or death, how about fining people for smoking which takes more lives than a seat belt could possably save or going out in the sun without sunblock or even flying because the plane could fall from the sky. Give me a break, land of the free my ----. The future as a free society is going to dissapear if new stupid laws keep getting passed by politicians that have nothing better to do than screw with our rights. We could just use the IYDS system and forget about fining me for having a different belief than you.
Here is the way I look at it, In this case it's the govenment trying to keep me safe from myself, which really bothers me, sure seat belts can save lives, but by not wearing a seatbelt, the only person I'm harming is me. I think the instances of bodys flying through windshields and then hurting somebody is low. I say grandfather it in by age of driver and age of car. They became mandatory in Ontario in 1976. I say if you were born prior to 1960 (making you 16 in 76) or if the car is prior to '76 then it's your choice, BTW, I'd still wear them.
It just it amazes me that the government feels the need to protect us idiots from killing ourselves. They make us wear a seatbelt, but you can ride a motorcycle without a helmet. If they truly want to protect us with seatbelts, then they need to make it mandatory for the manufacturers to install 5 point harnesses. The neck breakers they install now are dangerous.
i wear a seat belt all the time and taught my daughter to also, she always puts her belt on no matter whos car shes in even if no one else wears theirs. i am NOT for the seat belt law, i think it should be your choice. i always liked the saying: HUG YOUR KIDS AT HOME AND BELT THEM IN THE CAR!!!:TU:
The government has their hand in our lives way too much already. I do agree that it should be a law until you are an adult. After that, it should be your choice.
Seat belts I have worn my seat belt years before there was a law in our state. I've been to many funerals of people that decided not to wear it. Another good reason to wear a seat belt, is that when your air bag goes off, you don't want your face planted in the steering wheel. The air bag will snap your neck if your unrestrained. I think it's a personal choice issue myself. I'd rather see the cops spend more time ticketing idiots that aren't smart enough to use a turn signal.
I know that wearing seat belts saves lives, but I still think it should be a personal choice. I agree that there are much more "important" things the the cops should be looking for instead of me not wearing my seat belt. I do wear mine all the time now, I've received too many tickets for not wearing it. They are forcing me to wear it, not that I want to. Dan:3gears:
an accident can happen at anytime . what it boils down to is - do u want to be alive to raise your children , or do u want your children to watch u being buried ?
Seat Belts I always wear mine because of two fatalities in my family at an impressionable age. My grandmother died in 1969 after being thrown from a car when she was making a left turn and t-boned by a speeder. My cousin was killed by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign about two years later. Both would have had a fighting chance to survive if they had used even the lap belt technology that was available in the cars back then. I spent most of a week in the hospital last year recuperating from back surgery. The poor SOB in the bed next to me was 20 years old and had been in a moderately bad car accident. Had a broken leg but not another mark on his body. He looked fine, but had been in a coma for 4 weeks, and showed no signs of EVER coming out of it. You guessed it, no seat belt. You need to understand the universal heartbreak this causes. His mom, trying to find a way to bring this grown man home so that she can nursemaid him instead of putting him in a nursing home for the next 70 years. The docs and nurses, having to deal with a WASTED life, spending days and nights cleaning off a grown man like he was a little baby. I don't really care about the financial costs, because we are a rich country and we can probably afford to spend the resources it takes to feed and care for human vegetables like this. The really sad part is the pain that other people have to go through when somebody screws themselves up so bad. Bottom line - people are STUPID. I know that I am going to make lots of you guys angry with this, but seat belts should be REQUIRED. If you get your back up when somebody tells you to do something that's good for you, you need to GROW UP. All of the rationalizations and excuses and hypothetical "what if I'm knocked out and the car is upside down in a ditch and the seatbelt holds me down" arguments ignore the main point - the human body cannot absorb the amount of punishment that a car will transfer to it in a crash. MOST of the time, you will be better off buckled in in a crash. The really scary thing is that you are NEVER completely safe in a moving vehicle. It doesn't matter how good your driving is, s**t happens and accidents follow. So don't ignore reality - play the odds in your favor and WEAR YOUR SEATBELT. Peace and Respect to all of you -
belted Thanks John, Couldn't have said it better. I have (almost) always worn my belts, but I don't like the new sissy belts that are in cars because people do not want to be uncomfortable in their cars. I would have a 5-point in all my cars if it was an option. Having rolled a race car at 140 mph, I can tell you that without a belt I would not be here to tell of it. I know that that is extreme, but, I just don't feel right being in a two ton hurtling mass of steel that some idiot is going to pull in front of at the next turn. Some things are just not in our control. I would rather be temporarily uncomfortable than permanently miserable or dead. As far as the law, I am for it because too many people ignore the risk, and we all foot the bill when they end up in the hospital. If more people would wear seat belts fewer would die, and yes some will die because of the belts, but, that number is insignificant in the light of those saved. I will also say that I feel more in control of my vehicle when I am strapped in, because I have become a part of the vehicle and am not just a "passenger". "end of rant" Jim
We also pay higher insurance for people who dont pay for stuff they buy. Anyways i have been taught to wear my seatbelt all the time. Saved me from flying from the middle of back seat through the windshield. The law is just to keep the people of the state safe. It's just like your parents they do it cause they care, not to make your life hell.
A lot of the anti Seatbelt law arguments view the law as saving people from themselves. I disagree. The law is to save us from the those who don't want to wear them. Insurance companies pay those who've injured themselves with our money. The government has to pay for the ambulance and police required with our money. If you're permanently disabled it's our money that supports you. Many of the arguments against the law boil down to "the vast majority of cars have seatbelts. Everyone is likely to be in a couple of accidents. It's not a matter of "if" you'll be in an accident, but when you are in an accident how badly will you be hurt? The massive numbers accidents and injuries along with the simplicity of reducing those injuries by wearing a belt make it a law worth having. Seat belts save lives, but more importantly they prevent lives from becoming a burden on society. That risk of becoming a burden when there's a simple way to prevent it is another good reason for a law.
What kind of imression will your boy have when he sees you flying through the windshield? I got in the "habit" from my grandma who taught me how to drive, as well as drove me everywhere when I was young and impressionable. Now I see my little brother going everywhere with dad and he's not wearing his seatbelt because "dad's tough and doesn't need to wear one". The government never did like those pesky hell's angels. :laugh:
Growing up with a Paramedic as my Dad he had some ugly scrap books to show us from time to time . Road rash sucks and the ride threw the windshield never looked good to me either . Yep , We wear them ..........:Smarty:
It's smart to wear a belt (if your car is so equipped)... But, There's something about..."Click it or we'll ruin your day" that really rubs me wrong.... Don't like being threatened by the Law.
I look at it this way...Seatbelt laws are all about the money they collect in fines, not about whether or not you wear the belt. I'm in and out of vehicles all day long. At work it's a van or box truck, on my own time it's my car or Suburban. I find it inconvenient to hook and unhook the seatbelts fifty times a day, even though the statistics show most accidents occur close to home. I make a personal choice not to wear them during the most likely time for me to get in an accident. That may not be smart, but that's my free will in action. On the other hand, any time I'm gonna be in the car longer than fifteen minutes, I almost always wear it. Every single time I get out on the road with my racecar trailer in tow, I have the belt on. I believe seatbelts save lives and, when I choose to, I wear them. The government can pass all the laws they want, I'll obey the ones I choose, when I choose, and they can punish me if they catch me doing something they've decided is illegal. They can't actually make me wear them unless the cops decide to ride everywhere with me! No difference than their arbitrary speed limits. I break the speed limit constantly and consistently and I will continue to drive at whatever speed I choose. The only thing they can do is hit me with a fine if they catch me. They can't make me slow down OR wear a seatbelt. If and when I get caught, I'll pay the fine and go on doing as I choose. I suppose if I get caught enough times, the threat of losing my license will slow me down. Other than that, not a chance! As far as the seatbelt goes, that doesn't carry any DMV points against your license here in Jersey, so that's just a financial decision I'd have to make if they kept catching me. Any of you guys can present your arguments for or against seatbelt laws and, as much as I like you, I'm not changing one single thing about the way I operate beacause of anything I read here. Sorry. PS - I've been an EMT for 15 years, and I've seen my share of accidents where a seatbelt might have made a difference. That has about as much effect on my day-to-day choices as transporting lung cancer patients to the hospital has on my partners who smoke right after the transport is over. None.
