Always. They were a pain in the ass when they started, back in the 60’s, but my folks insisted. Now it’s a habit, and fortunately I didn’t have to buy a new car during those few years when they had those gawdawful “automatic” shoulder straps.
Now, if I’m in a car and don’t have the seat belt on, it feels wrong, like I’m “loose.” Belted in I feel more like part of the vehicle and ready for whatever comes.
In 1979 I rolled a brand new Vanagon, taking a rural highway turn way too fast (turns out it was a T painted like a curve, and I’d not noticed the yellow 15-mph sign on the 45-mph road.) Between the seatbelts and holding the steering wheel, I hardly moved from my spot, and neither me nor the car’s owner (in the passenger) were hurt, though the vehicle was basically totaled. Without seatbelts, I might have hit my head on the windshield before it shattered and popped out on its own, or at the very least, hit the roof.
Unlike the old Vanagan, the new one landed on its wheels.
My first job was developing software to analyze test crashes at Ford. I visited the barrier test site a few times and it’s quite stunning how violent a crash can be, even at speeds as low as 30-35 MPH. Air bags are a supplement to seat belts, not a replacement. I think you’d have to be an idiot not to wear a seat belt.
I always wear my seatbelt. My father always encouraged us to do things like that even when it’s not necessary so it becomes second nature, that way you’re far less likely to forget when it could be important. For the same reason I indicate every turn, even when there are no other cars around and no real need to.
I’m fully willing to believe that 80-90% of accidents are avoidable, but not necessarily by you. In 1999, I was driving the speed limit of 50mph on a roadway. There was an 18-wheeler on the cross-street to my right, waiting to pull out to make a left turn. A guy in a truck decided he didn’t want to wait on the 18-wheeler, and proceeded to go around him on his right, which meant neither of us could see each other. The truck pulled out in front of me, and I t-boned him. I had enough time to register the fact that a vehicle was pulling out and slam on my brakes. So yes, the accident was avoidable, but not by me. The seatbelt I was wearing is the only reason I am still here now.
I wear my seatbelt if someone else is in the car with me (and they have to wear their seatbelts too).
Other than that, no. Why not? (1) Seatbelts bother me. To the point of irritation. Irritation to the point of distraction. (2) I don’t have wrecks. (3) If I did have a wreck, there’s some goddamn balloon or something, another thing I did not ask for, that will come out and probably break my neck, whether I’m wearing a seatbelt or not. (I am short.)
I’m not against wearing seat belts, and my kids thought, for awhile, that the car wouldn’t start unless everybody was buckled up. (In actual fact I once had a car that I had to buckle in, for instance, my bag of groceries, or my dog, or even my purse, or it would not start. Fortunately that insanity passed.)
But I resent the whole “Seat belts save lives” thing. Better driving saves lives. Oh, let’s see, we can’t prevent accidents so let’s make sure people are strapped in. Since we know accidents are not preventable. Well, only 90 or so percent of them are preventable, but, oh well.
I’m not sure if it is still true, but it definitely used to be that European airbags inflated with less force as they were designed with a belted passenger in mind, as seatbelt laws are pretty ubiquitous in Europe, whereas in the US they inflated quicker and with more force as there was a much higher chance of the passenger not being belted. This, however, meant that US airbags had a higher chance of injuring the passenger.
As the poster above you also said, you only have control over your driving. My Father is lucky to be alive after being T-boned by a Land Rover not stopping when coming out of a side road onto the main road that my Father was driving on.
There was bugger all he could have done about it, but not being projected towards the windows was a very good thing.
So you’re choosing not to wear your seatbelt and be a truly GOOD driver, and you’ll risk your life on the 10-20% of all accidents that are unavoidable? Good luck, but Darwin may catch up to you.
If the car’s in motion, my seatbelt is ON. What’s the public nature of the property got to do with it? You can thwack vehicle into a tree while dodging a bull when you’re riding down the tractor road on your private farm. Seat belts are nice.
the first was decades ago, before all cars had seatbelts. It was a dark, rainy night. As we approached a traffic light at red, the driver started to slow. Unfortunately he didn’t see the dark-coloured car waiting at the lights. We had a second to brake and brace ourselves, then we hit - maybe at 5mph.
The driver got a cut head and my knee got bashed. We both needed medical treatment.
the second was on a motorway (= US freeway) where we were doing 60 mph. The traffic was very light. We both had seatbelts on.
The front left tyre suddenly blew out and the car lurched uncontrollably to the left. However the driver regained control and we stopped safely. The driver said “If I hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt, I’d have lost control.”