# Click It or Ticket **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583 "2013-05-17T04:36:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/21 "2013-05-17T12:58:39Z")
So how much was the ticket the OP received for failing to wear a seatbelt? (I’m assuming that the OP is in response to being cited for failing to do so.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/22 "2013-05-17T13:07:02Z")
Thanks for the sample of usual newspaper-blog commentary streams. You can all stop now. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/23 "2013-05-17T13:33:36Z")
> [@Teddy\_Kennedy](#): > > Am I in the minority in finding this law a steaming pile of bullshit? Or perhaps I missed something about the idea of “freedom”. > > I’d like to go ahead and make a few predictions concerning future laws: > [ul] > [li]Unprotected sex will be illegal. Permits will be granted to minorities and whites who can afford to pay.[/li][li]Bodies of water are off-limits. “Swimming permits” will be available for a fee.[/li][li]Leg-based transportation will be under speed restrictions. We wouldn’t want anybody tripping and harming themselves, would we?[/li][/ul] > Then again, what do I know? I’m not even intelligent enough to determine my own seat belt use. Not without some encouragement from Big Brother, that is. You might want to take as many safety precautions as you can while hurtling down that slippery slope. Die a bloody senseless death if you want to, but don’t do it on public property. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/24 "2013-05-17T13:37:17Z")
I’d be okay with no seatbelt laws if that meant that EMS did not have to render aid to you in the event of an accident (just use a firehose to get you off to the side of the road) or if the injured non-seatbelt wearer had to pay a differential for any treatment. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/25 "2013-05-17T14:51:15Z")
governments would be criticized if they didn’t minimize the costs of providing services. if you have an accident: with seat belt they stuff you in a meat wagon, call a wrecker. without a seat belt the fire department has to spend time mopping you off the pavement. this also ties up traffic for a longer time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/26 "2013-05-17T14:58:15Z")
Seat belt laws are stupid. Unfortunately management of limited resources like roads and regulation of dangerous objects likes cars fall under the reasonable aegis of the government. So the law we need is no more stupid laws. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/27 "2013-05-17T15:01:15Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Do car manufacturers support seat-belt laws in the USA? I have friends who design cars for Jaguar Land Rover here in the UK, and they say it’s a proper ballache to design for the American market as the safety features have to be OTT as seatbelt use cannot be assumed. They’re lying. Seatbelt laws have been in effect for decades and most people wear them. The extra safety features are likely being thrown in to qualify for “5 Star” crash test ratings, which is a big deal in American car advertising. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/28 "2013-05-17T15:19:01Z")
I helped fight to rescind motorcycle helmet laws in my state (we were successful). I’d never ride a motorcycle without a helmet. A friend who owns a bar fought against a smoking ban (and I helped him). We were successful. Immediately after he made his bar no-smoking. I am against seat belt laws. I generally wear a seat belt. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/29 "2013-05-17T15:44:40Z")
If you are willing to sign a waiver, that in the event of a car accident, you will receive no medical treatment or future lifetime benefits for you or your family that are in any way publicly funded or subsidized, I’ll agree to a waiver on your DL that excludes you from mandatory seat belt use. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/30 "2013-05-17T16:00:31Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I helped fight to rescind motorcycle helmet laws in my state (we were successful). I’d never ride a motorcycle without a helmet. > > A friend who owns a bar fought against a smoking ban (and I helped him). We were successful. Immediately after he made his bar no-smoking. > > I am against seat belt laws. I generally wear a seat belt. YES. Just because something is a good idea doesn’t mean it should be mandatory. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/31 "2013-05-17T16:03:10Z")
Bicyclists don’t use seatbelts, don’t pay fuel taxes or for vehicle licensing and can end up just as dead if hit by a car. I haven’t seen an argument on here that couldn’t be used as justification for outlawing bicycles. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/32 "2013-05-17T16:08:05Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > There’s no drawback to wearing a seat belt when one is available. A lot of risky things people are allowed to do would \*actually \*curtail freedom if they were prohibited. Actually, there are potential drawbacks. They are admittedly rare, for the most part, but they definitely do exist. I don’t think this is available online anywhere, but I have a book that tells about two people who were killed **because** they were wearing seat belts. They were in a convertible, with the top down, and somehow the car flipped over. They would have been thrown clear–but instead, they got their heads dragged along the pavement, with the weight of the car on them. My grandma knew of a man who also got killed because he was wearing a seat belt. His car caught fire, and he panicked, and couldn’t get the belt unfastened. Then there’s the theory of risk compensation, or risk homeostasis, which holds that people subconsciously seek out a certain level of risk. When something like a seat belt lowers the perceived risk of an activity, people modify their actions to increase the risk in some other way. This theory has led to half-joking suggestions that the most effective driving-safety device would be a metal spike placed in the middle of the steering wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/33 "2013-05-17T16:09:37Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > If you are willing to sign a waiver, that in the event of a car accident, you will receive no medical treatment or future lifetime benefits for you or your family that are in any way publicly funded or subsidized, I’ll agree to a waiver on your DL that excludes you from mandatory seat belt use. Nope, the driver still has to wear one to keep them in control of the vehicle in event of a collision. All the passengers can sign the release. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/34 "2013-05-17T16:09:40Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Bicyclists don’t use seatbelts, don’t pay fuel taxes or for vehicle licensing and can end up just as dead if hit by a car. > > I haven’t seen an argument on here that couldn’t be used as justification for outlawing bicycles. How many people(other than the rider) have been killed by a bicycle careening out of control? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/35 "2013-05-17T16:26:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I helped fight to rescind motorcycle helmet laws in my state (we were successful). I’d never ride a motorcycle without a helmet. > > A friend who owns a bar fought against a smoking ban (and I helped him). We were successful. Immediately after he made his bar no-smoking. > > I am against seat belt laws. I generally wear a seat belt. Good for you! We indeed need to increase the supply of organs for those who need them, and I see you are in favor of winnowing out the stupid by making it easier for them to kill themselves. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/36 "2013-05-17T16:32:20Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Bicyclists don’t use seatbelts, don’t pay fuel taxes or for vehicle licensing and can end up just as dead if hit by a car. bicyclists do get licensed. they were using the roads first anywho. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/37 "2013-05-17T16:59:30Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Actually, there are potential drawbacks. They are admittedly rare, for the most part, but they definitely do exist. > > I don’t think this is available online anywhere, but I have a book that tells about two people who were killed **because** they were wearing seat belts. They were in a convertible, with the top down, and somehow the car flipped over. They would have been thrown clear–but instead, they got their heads dragged along the pavement, with the weight of the car on them. “Thrown clear” typically means “found dead somewhere else,” although people who advocate against seat belts are hoping most others don’t know that. The person who hit my family head-on was “thrown clear” and found 50 feet down an embankment (dead). My whole family was wearing seat belts and escaped serious injury. > [@Flyer](#): > > My grandma knew of a man who also got killed because he was wearing a seat belt. His car caught fire, and he panicked, and couldn’t get the belt unfastened. Everyone I’ve ever talked to who hated seat belts has a story of someone they heard about from someone else who was killed _because_ of seat belts. Pardon me for not taking these tales too seriously; yours may be true, but it’s a common urban legend if not, in some cases, outright fraud. The state troopers who arrived at my family’s big crash scene said they’ve had to cut plenty of people out of jammed seat belts at accident scenes, but _never_ a dead person. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/38 "2013-05-17T16:59:35Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How many people(other than the rider) have been killed by a bicycle careening out of control? Wait, what? I’m supposed to wear my seatbelt so I don’t kill someone else when my car careens out of control? You aren’t making sense. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/39 "2013-05-17T17:03:52Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > bicyclists do get licensed. > > they were using the roads first anywho. Well, a bit after the Native Americans who walked them. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583/40 "2013-05-17T17:08:09Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Wait, what? I’m supposed to wear my seatbelt so I don’t kill someone else when my car careens out of control? > > You aren’t making sense. If something happens suddenly and you start careening out of control, I’d rather you be sitting up And grabbing the wheel, rather than dazed/unconscious from hitting your head on the wheel or the windshield. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/click-it-or-ticket/658583.md?page=3)