Well, it’s only BS if you’re trying to use it to make the point that there’s something special about driving near your home that makes you more likely to crash. The way I usually see it used is to point out, “Just because you’re only driving a short distance from your home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wear your seatbelt.”
Why are seatbelt laws stupid?
My car doesn’t go until everyone’s belted in, either. My car, my rules.
I’ve heard about that - in a nutshell, it sounds like humans just can’t help ourselves - we always have to figure out new, inventive ways to kill ourselves. 
To add a little weight to this, I’d like to hear your reasoning on this as well.
Many - if not most - accidents are caused by other people.
I’ve been in more than my fair share of accidents. All but one was caused by people running into me. Nothing to do with my driving style.
If I did not wear my seatbelt religiously, I would not be alive today to type this.
WTF? That’s exactly what the statistic is telling us; of course we all know that every trip begins at home and ends at home (eventually).
It’s like saying that the fact that most people are murdered by someone they know is BS, because we spend more time and interact more with people we know than with strangers. 
Yes. You are correct. It would be very similar to your analogy. If 100% of my trips are within 1 mile of my house, but only 10% are beyond 20 miles, then certainly my percentage is higher <1 mile because I have to drive it every day. So what the hell is the point of the statistic in the first place? It’s bugged me since my driving class when I was a teenager.
And seat belt laws are stupid because they don’t work. The OP states she wasn’t wearing one, but she got a ticket anyway. If the law was taken away today, would any seat belt wearers take theirs off? How many of you didn’t wear one before, and because it was a law changed your behaviour?
Sorry guys- I didn’t mean to come off in a confrontational manner. I was just sharing something mundane while on a conference call, so I didn’t really have time to make a long qualification.
The point, as it relates to the OP, is that she and many other people figure, “Oh, I’m just running to the store so I don’t need to put on my seat belt.” As if the short distance you’re traveling somehow magically reduces or eliminates your risk of being in an accident.
The OP explicitly stated that she only wears her seat belt for long trips, but never for her routine drives. Given that most people get into accidents on those routine drives, it makes sense to buckle up for them.
Well just to be an arsehole about it, if you have trouble wearing a seatbelt because you are too fat then I think the least of the problem is your ticket but losing weight should be a much greater priority.
That is one of the reasons I really miss my old Scout … lap belt only [the tops were removable and interchangable and I frequently drove it totally open like a convertible but no actual top =)]
You have no idea how many times I would get pulled over by a cop eager to write me up do have his hopes dashed by the perfectly legal lap belt that was original equipment … <evil grin>
No numbers to contribute, but…
Imagine two groups: Group A is the people who always wear a seat belt, because their mamma taught them to. Group B is the people who will obey pretty much any law that isn’t too silly or inconvenient, simply because it is a law—doubly so if there is money involved.
It isn’t to improbably that Group A and Group B together would be more people. In other words, A U B is more than A or B. That means that the net result of the law is more seat belt wearers.
The group B - (A ∩ B) is the folks who would remove their belts if the law weren’t there.
This is MPSIMS, not the Pit, so don’t be an arsehole.
No warning issued.
twickster, MPSIMS moderator
We have had a rash of high-school kids getting killed here in the last few months from non-use of seat belts, mainly from rollovers where they were thrown from the vehicle. I have zero sympathy, and would almost be bold enough to show up at the funeral with a “Seat belts save lives” poster. I cannot fathom why people don’t use them. They’re not always comfortable, but neither is life in a wheelchair or eternity in a pine box.