What if you're in a head on collision? Your full body and face go into the seat in front of you. Compress your spine, you're dead. What if you're T-boned? You smash into the side door. What if you roll down a ditch? You're flying all over the place. What if you're fish-tailed? You're rolling around the back seat. Wearing a seat belt can save your life. I'm appalled people don't take their lives more seriously. I force my passengers to wear seatbelts or they can find another ride. If their life is on my conscience and dependent upon my driving, they ride by my rules.
I can't believe what I'm reading in this thread, have you ever taken a drivers education course? Have you never seen a news report where they say someone has been ejected from their auto from a collision? You may have a little more protection sitting in the back seat if you have a collision, but your body will still become a projectile if you are involved in a serious wreck.
My father-in-law witnessed an accident in which the person in the back seat did not wear a seat belt and was propelled through the front window.
Wearing a seat belt has become a habit for me only because of the primary offense label the law carries with it, meaning if a cop sees or suspects you are not wearing a seat belt they can pull you over. I now do it without thinking, like I said it is a habit. I hate the law though because I don't think you should be required to wear one, if you want to take the risks associated with not wearing a seat belt then fine don't wear one.The ridiculousness of the situation in my state is, there is a seat belt law but motorcyclist have the option of wearing a helmet or not. Honestly, I think there a multiple factors here. Sure there is the safety concern but there is also the revenue generated from tickets and the ability to just pull somebody over now because you suspected them of not wearing a seat belt. I don't like that.
what a bunch of cry babies...don't want to be part of the "money grab", then put your seatbelt on and shut up
Also, for those of you who think that the problems stemming from not wearing a seat belt only apply to that person, what about that person's: spouse, children, parents, siblings, family, friends, etc.? You being dead or seriously injured affects more than you. I do agree that it is ridiculous that there are seat belt laws but not necessarily motorcycle helmet laws. There should be both.
Was he in the middle? The point of seatbelt is to hold you in place and there is seat stopping you from flying out. The seatbelt doesn't reduce the force exerted on your body. That force has to go somewhere (conservation of momentum). I can understand having to wear the seatbelt in the front, but not in the back.
If you have enough health insurance. The thing that bothers me most about this recent "Click it or Ticket" campaign is the radio commercial that they've been running. It's about a kid whose buddy can't go to the concert with him because he got a ticket for no seatbelt. As if the whole impetus for wearing your seatbelt is fear of punishment from the police.
I don't wear my seat belt because I don't like having a belt strapped across my chest. It's that simple. My parents made me wear one as a kid and when I started driving as a teen I wore mine religiously but over the course of my life I just found I was more comfortable without it. I've been ticketed for not wearing my seatbelt twice (most recently was probably 10 years ago). I still think it is absolutely ridiculous to try to force me to wear a seatbelt in my 4 door sedan that has ****loads of airbags yet the guy next to me can legally drive a two door convertible or better yet a motorcycle (and he doesn't even have to wear a helmet!). The law is ridiculous and completely inconsistent with many of the other "safety" rules of the road.
Some more Nanny-Statism: New Mexico Makes it Law New Mexico passed a state law that went into effect in July, 2007 that includes a requirement for helmets for tricycle riders. It also covers both riders and passengers on bicycles, skateboards, scooters, and skates.
You know what will happen when the law is lifted... people are going to sue the car manufacturers and the local enforcement if they get into an accident and get injured... a'la LADY vs. GOOGLE MAPS thing.
Should we think about those people every time we eat some fatty food or forget to wear sunscreen too? Seriously, that line of reasoning quickly slips down the slippery slope to being ridiculous. For the record, I don't have kids so if I die today nobody is going to be fatherless or homeless or anything like that.
Post of the year. Next on the list? Let's all start stopping at stop signs, going the speed limit, and not driving drunk. That'll show 'em. Stick it to the man!
