Click It or Ticket

[Labrador_Deceiver]

@Czarcasm

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.

That’s quite a reach. Most people hit their head on a windshield or stearing wheel when the car stopps suddenly, not when it careens out of control. And if you’re so out of control that you’re in danger of knocking yourself out, it isn’t going to matter if you’re conscious or not.

[Critical1]

I witnessed a T bone collision where the driver who hit the other car ended up in the back of his van. (it left the ground on impact and spun almost 360). Wearing your Seatbelt keeps you where you belong, it saves tax payers/health care providers millions and as already pointed out, you have no right to drive a car.

Motorcycles on the other hand? I fully support a waiver system for helmetless riders. Essentially a modified endorsement where you will receive no medical care beyond that required to harvest your organs when you crush your skull in a crash.

[Telemark]

@Labrador_Deceiver

That’s quite a reach.

No it’s not. That’s one of the purposes of a seat belt.

[Mahaloth]

@RandMcnally

Quick question: how old are you?

I second the question.

[Magiver]

@Musicat

One of the justifications for controlling things like this is, “If we (society) have to pay for your medical attention and/or burial due to an accident, we (society) have the right to minimize our losses.”

This argument fails if socialized medicine is not the law of the land. And I’m not saying it’s a valid argument in the first place.

Imagine what you can apply that legal premise to.

I think anyone who doesn’t wear a seat belt is foolish in the extreme. We have the freedom to ski straight down a mountain wearing a parachute and swim with sharks along with an infinite number of activities that are risky.

I’m amazed such laws pass judicial review. I don’t see where the government has the authority to mandate anything of the individual. It makes sense that they have the power to enact safety equipment on cars, but not the use.

[Magiver]

@Critical1

I witnessed a T bone collision where the driver who hit the other car ended up in the back of his van. (it left the ground on impact and spun almost 360). Wearing your Seatbelt keeps you where you belong, it saves tax payers/health care providers millions and as already pointed out, you have no right to drive a car.

Seat belts have no effect on the ability to drive a car.

[Magiver]

@Critical1

I witnessed a T bone collision where the driver who hit the other car ended up in the back of his van. (it left the ground on impact and spun almost 360). Wearing your Seatbelt keeps you where you belong, it saves tax payers/health care providers millions and as already pointed out, you have no right to drive a car.

Motorcycles on the other hand? I fully support a waiver system for helmetless riders. Essentially a modified endorsement where you will receive no medical care beyond that required to harvest your organs when you crush your skull in a crash.

OK, I’ve decided that everything you do is risky so… no medical soup for you.

[Labrador_Deceiver]

@Telemark

No it’s not. That’s one of the purposes of a seat belt.

Not seeing it. If the wreck is that violent, you don’t have any way of contolling the car, as it’s likely airborne or embedded in a wall.

[cochrane]

@BigT

Don’t oversell yourself here. There is definitely a drawback, and that drawback is pretty much why anyone chooses not to wear one: they are uncomfortable for a lot of people. I personally got out of the habit of wearing one fore a while because of this.

Fortunately, this has gotten better. Nearly all seatbelts seem to use a locking mechanism that leaves you be free to move if you aren’t in a crash, and nearly all of them allow adjusting the height so you don’t cut off your neck. And, due to the increasing size of the average person, the seatbelts themselves are getting longer to accommodate. The comfort issue is less than it used to be.

Now they need to work a little more on convenience. That still seems to be spotty. The buckles are still often hard to find. If it takes longer than a couple seconds, some people just aren’t going to do it. People are horrible with the planning fallacy. Few think they are the ones who will need the seatbelt until it is too late.

You may view these as insignificant drawbacks, but your opinion is not the one that counts. It’s that of the person who needs to “click it.”

Meh. I’ve become so accustomed to wearing a seatbelt that sometimes I forget to take it off before I try to get out of the car.

[cochrane]

@johnpost

bicyclists do get licensed.

they were using the roads first anywho.

Depends on local laws, I suppose. I’ve never lived anywhere that required anyone to be licensed to ride a bicycle. What about children, anyway? Tons of kids ride bikes.

[Telemark]

@Labrador_Deceiver

Not seeing it. If the wreck is that violent, you don’t have any way of contolling the car, as it’s likely airborne or embedded in a wall.

Nonsense. Hitting a big bump, making an emergency turn to avoid something, or getting hit by another car at non-lethal speeds can easily push the driver out of position. If you are removed from a position in which you can control the car, then it becomes an unguided missile. You don’t need to send the car airborn to knock the driver out from behind the steering wheel.

I personally think this is a valid argument for drivers being belted at all times. I’m not sure it applies equally to all passengers, but that’s a different subject.

[Czarcasm]

@Telemark

I personally think this is a valid argument for drivers being belted at all times. I’m not sure it applies equally to all passengers, but that’s a different subject.

The last thing I need is for some passenger to be tossed my way as I’m trying to recover from being sideswiped.

[perfectparanoia]

This thread made me look around to be sure that we hadn’t travelled back in time 30 years. Wear your seatbelt. Make your passengers wear theirs. I thought this was just how it was…

[Labrador_Deceiver]

@Telemark

Nonsense. Hitting a big bump, making an emergency turn to avoid something, or getting hit by another car at non-lethal speeds can easily push the driver out of position. If you are removed from a position in which you can control the car, then it becomes an unguided missile. You don’t need to send the car airborn to knock the driver out from behind the steering wheel.

I personally think this is a valid argument for drivers being belted at all times. I’m not sure it applies equally to all passengers, but that’s a different subject.

I’m not arguing against weaaring seatbelts. This discussion was about the similarities between the arguemnt for seatbelts and the argument against riding bikes. I was pointing out that Czarcasm’s pereceived difference was a huge reach.

[Dewey_Finn]

@johnpost

bicyclists do get licensed.

they were using the roads first anywho.

Well, except for the people on horseback or in an oxen cart or a horse-driven carriage. Remember that the Romans, among others, had roads well before bicycles were invented.

[Sailboat]

@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.

@Labrador_Deceiver

That’s quite a reach.

@Magiver

Seat belts have no effect on the ability to drive a car.

@Labrador_Deceiver

I’m not arguing against weaaring seatbelts. This discussion was about the similarities between the arguemnt for seatbelts and the argument against riding bikes. I was pointing out that Czarcasm’s pereceived difference was a huge reach.

Well, experts disagree with you guys:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration link [warning: .pdf]

A doctor

Virginia DMV

Michigan State Police “Facts and Myths about Safety Belts”

[Sailboat]

@Sailboat

“Thrown clear” typically means “found dead somewhere else,” although people who advocate against seat belts are hoping most others don’t know that.

Late addition: reading the links I just gave above, I see they say your chances of death are 25 times greater if you’re “thrown clear,” which supports what I said above.

[madmonk28]

I love this video of a guy not wearing his seatbelt. As Daniel Tosh said, he managed to sit in every seat in the car.

Driving without a seat belt

[Krouget]

@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”.

Of the traffic laws which exist, it’s not one that immediately riles me up.

I wear my seat belt all the time, anyway, as it’s been partially responsible for saving me from serious injury twice, now. And as it relates to exercising my freedom, I have a list of things ahead of wearing a seat belt, which I’d contend are bigger issues.

[Labrador_Deceiver]

@Sailboat

Well, experts disagree with you guys:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration link [warning: .pdf]

A doctor

Virginia DMV

Michigan State Police “Facts and Myths about Safety Belts”

Thank god a doctor and the DMV decided to make generic statements about hypothetical situations that have nothing at all to do with why the law was actually passed. My face is really red now!