# Only one more week until the government protects me from me **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 23, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738 "2009-06-23T17:10:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/21 "2009-06-23T20:31:19Z")
> [@](#): > > (1) People should not use terms like “statistically insignificant” if they don’t know what it means. Notably, “statistically insignificant,” unlike one connotation of plain old “insignificant,” does not mean “very small.” And people shouldn’t raise definition issues when they don’t understand what was said. “Statistically insignificant means that the deviation is so small, that it is inside the limits of natural deviations or fluctuations that are inevitable in the real life.” [cite](http://www.friendly-ware.com/aap/help/glossary.htm) I used the term in reference to two groups: one whose lives were saved by other people wearing seat belts and one whose deaths were caused by wearing seat belts. And my point was that neither group was large enough to justify a claim that seat belt use is a net positive if you eliminate the larger group of people whose lives were saved by their own seat belt use. > [@](#): > > (2) Who doesn’t wear their seatbelts? Honestly, this is like passing a law to require people to wipe their asses after they take a dump. Technically, yes, I guess it is a curtailment of your liberty to go unwiped. But who does that? If most people were going to wear seat belts anyway then what was the point of passing the law? Presumedly some people were affected by this. And even if nobody was forced to alter their behavior as a result of this law, it’s still a bad precedent in that it allowed the government to legislate on an issue it shouldn’t have. Every curtailment of liberty is serious as a matter of principle. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/22 "2009-06-23T20:44:06Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Driving 55 mph is arguably the right thing to do; that’s mandated by law. It is? Do yo umean that when the posted speed limit is 65, there is a law saying I can only drive at 55? I am pretty sure that is not a law. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/23 "2009-06-23T20:44:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And people shouldn’t raise definition issues when they don’t understand what was said. “Statistically insignificant means that the deviation is so small, that it is inside the limits of natural deviations or fluctuations that are inevitable in the real life.” [cite](http://www.friendly-ware.com/aap/help/glossary.htm) I used the term in reference to two groups: one whose lives were saved by other people wearing seat belts and one whose deaths were caused by wearing seat belts. And my point was that neither group was large enough to justify a claim that seat belt use is a net positive if you eliminate the larger group of people whose lives were saved by their own seat belt use. You still clearly don’t understand the definition. It does not mean, as you seem to take it to mean, proportionally small in comparison to some other phenomenon.\* When you assert that something is “statistically significant,” you are asserting that the difference or the correlation inferred from the sample is unlikely enough to justify ruling out chance/coincidence as the explanation of the difference or the correlation. - ETA: “Insignificant” means this! But I guess that doesn’t sound impressively “science” enough for you. Too bad, though, because science kind of thrives on precision. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/24 "2009-06-23T21:38:54Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > even more scarce police resources will be diverted from violent crime to enforce personal choices on Florida residents. You’ve been rightfully taken to task for this assertion. It may even be that this law will generate revenue, which will be spent making police resources less scarce so that they can actually do more against violent crime. Though I’ll believe that when I see it. As for manditory seat belt laws, I have three reactions, which I fully admit are mutually inconsistent: (1) _shrug_ I already always wear my seatbelt, as everyone should. The law isn’t going to affect me one way or the other, so why should I care? (2) As a result of this law, people are going to buckle up who otherwise wouldn’t. Lives will be saved and injuries prevented, at hardly any cost to anyone except those who choose to disregard the law. Sounds like a good thing all around. (3) It’s an example of the ever-expanding nanny state, a law that really only exists to, as the OP points out, protect people from themselves. Loss of personal freedom is a bad thing. Adults should be able to decide for themselves what risks are worth taking, as long as they themselves are the ones to face the consequences. Like I said, I realize these reactions are incompatible. And since the death or serious injury of one person really does have effects on the other people around them, I lean more towards #2 than #3. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/25 "2009-06-23T21:48:02Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Driving 55 mph is arguably the right thing to do; that’s mandated by law. 186,282 M.P.S. It’s not just a good idea – It’s the Law! ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/26 "2009-06-23T22:01:16Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > (2) Who doesn’t wear their seatbelts? Morbidly obese people, duh. I don’t have a horse in the nanny state versus the respect-mah-personal-authoriaay crowd, but I firmly believe making seatbelt violations a primary offense is solely designed to sidestep 4th amendment probable cause/reasonable suspicion issues. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/27 "2009-06-23T22:21:21Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > No…but the LEO will be put in a place where he can check on seat belts and not in an area where he can see the nun being raped… > > After all, you have to have priorities. Ticketing for seat belts brings in revenue. Going after and prosecuting rapists uses up revenue… Around the Bay Area the enforcement of seat belt laws I see is a cop glancing over to see if you are wearing one as he passes you on the freeway. If any cops have been put on seatbelt duty, it seems to have escaped Mr. Roadshow. (Cops do get put on carpool lane enforcement duty.) so I doubt very much if any cops are pulled from nun protection duty for seat belts. ---
**Author:** ![Scruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Scruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruff)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/28 "2009-06-23T22:32:48Z")
Long time ago, there was talk of various mandatory seat belt laws. Various people exercised their rights to dissent, and as a result the Fed passed laws mandating a Supplemental Restraint System, which is a complicated, heavy and expensive addition to cars. (aka the air-bag). So now we’re passing seatbelt laws across the country, Does this mean that I can take the SRS out of my car and/or import a car that doesn’t have SRS? No? Why not? If I **have** to wear a seatbelt, then let me make my car safer/cheaper/lighter/better. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/29 "2009-06-23T22:35:13Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > No…but the LEO will be put in a place where he can check on seat belts and not in an area where he can see the nun being raped… > > After all, you have to have priorities. Ticketing for seat belts brings in revenue. Going after and prosecuting rapists uses up revenue… Because nuns are always raped in broad daylight right outside the donut shop. If the nun can get to a phone and call 911, there will be an LEO on their way to help, seatbelt rebels be damned. And we, as a society, believe prosecuting rapists is so important that we pay taxes and fines to fund law enforcement and the judiciary. ---
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/30 "2009-06-23T23:04:10Z")
Crazy bitch. My first car crash (yes there’ve been a few) involved seatbelts. I thought we were going to burn alive (upside down) and I couldn’t unfasten the damn thing. For years I never buckled up. Today, I do it all the time. It’s the law (in my state) Mom has always been an advocate. Of course YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/31 "2009-06-23T23:21:58Z")
> [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](#): > > Crazy bitch. > > My first car crash (yes there’ve been a few) involved seatbelts. I thought we were going to burn alive (upside down) and I couldn’t unfasten the damn thing. For years I never buckled up. Today, I do it all the time. It’s the law (in my state) Mom has always been an advocate. Of course YMMV. Oh Christ, not the whole, “Oh, but what if I’m in a burning car?” line. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/32 "2009-06-23T23:31:03Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh Christ, not the whole, “Oh, but what if I’m in a burning car?” line. Even worse if your car is burning upside down at the bottom of a lake! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/33 "2009-06-23T23:35:20Z")
Just hope your state doesn’t start putting “Click it or Ticket” on the electronic freeway signs that are supposed to be used to warn of traffic problems ahead. People just have to slow down to read it and cause traffic jams. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/34 "2009-06-24T00:01:43Z")
This isn’t meant to protect you from you, its meant to protect us from having to pay for your stupid ass medical bills. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/35 "2009-06-24T00:11:31Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Around the Bay Area the enforcement of seat belt laws I see is a cop glancing over to see if you are wearing one as he passes you on the freeway. If any cops have been put on seatbelt duty, it seems to have escaped Mr. Roadshow. (Cops do get put on carpool lane enforcement duty.) so I doubt very much if any cops are pulled from nun protection duty for seat belts. In one month the cops in South Carolina wrote 6700 tickets. seems time consuming to me. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/36 "2009-06-24T00:11:38Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > No…but the LEO will be put in a place where he can check on seat belts and not in an area where he can see the nun being raped… > > After all, you have to have priorities. Ticketing for seat belts brings in revenue. Going after and prosecuting rapists uses up revenue… Unlikely. I don’t think that states are going to assign extra police officers to seatbelt patrol duty, do you? So I don’t buy the scenario of a police officer being pulled from one assignment and put in a place where he can check on seatbelt use. The highway patrol will simply have one more thing for which they can write a ticket. Also, in many states, there is no “primary enforcement” of seatbelt laws. That is, you can’t be pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt, but if you’re pulled over for something else, and you’re not wearing your seatbelt, you’ll get the ticket. My home state of New York, for example, is a primary enforcement state. My neighboring state of Pennsylvania is not. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/37 "2009-06-24T00:43:59Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > In one month the cops in South Carolina wrote 6700 tickets. seems time consuming to me. That’s 220 a day. How many cops do you have down there? I suspect more than 200. Less than one ticket per cop per day is unlikely to contribute to a crime wave. Probably is positive in the long run, because investigating a fatal accident seems to take forever, at least around here. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/38 "2009-06-24T00:45:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Just hope your state doesn’t start putting “Click it or Ticket” on the electronic freeway signs that are supposed to be used to warn of traffic problems ahead. People just have to slow down to read it and cause traffic jams. Those have seemed to be okay. Announcing road closures on the flipping Moon is what causes a backup. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/39 "2009-06-24T00:54:15Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > This isn’t meant to protect you from you, its meant to protect us from having to pay for your stupid ass medical bills. So is it now ok to pass a law banning people from eating over 2000 calories per day? We could have cops outside of McDonalds, checking orders and administering BMI tests, because we can’t trust people to do whats right.. Gotta save them from themselves. And think of the millions/billions we’d save in health care costs! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738/40 "2009-06-24T01:06:20Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > So is it now ok to pass a law banning people from eating over 2000 calories per day? We could have cops outside of McDonalds, checking orders and administering BMI tests, because we can’t trust people to do whats right.. Gotta save them from themselves. And think of the millions/billions we’d save in health care costs! You are equating medical treatment for car injuries with problems due to obesity? :rolleyes: :smack: There are over 3,000,000 people kiled or injured in car accidents every year in the US. Anything that reduces that saves money and time (of vital people like police, ambulance drivers and hospital staff). Why do we have traffic lights? Why do we drive on one side of the road? Because we can’t trust people to do what’s right! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-more-week-until-the-government-protects-me-from-me/500738.md?page=3)