[QUOTE=JohnBckWLD]
Coming next to a nanny state near you – State fines and punishment for:[ul][li]Smoking in your autombile (Oops, that one’s been proposed already)[/li][li]Eating Twinkies & Munching on Doritos (Or just enact taxes high-fat / carb-laden foods)[/li][li]Playing music at levels that could possibly damage your hearing[/li][li]Drinking spirits, wine or beer in excessive or dangerous levels[/li][li]Over-exercising at the gym (With weight limits and RPM caps on the treadmills)[/li][li]Extreme sports (Parachuting, mountain-climbing, skateboarding & bungee jumping)[/li][li]Driving a convertible sports car (Where flipping over equals death)[/ul][/li][/QUOTE]
My dad (he’s 60) refuses to wear one. “I’m not messing with that damn thing,” he’d say. He even bought a new truck, and turned off the airbag on the passenger’s side, and probably would have ripped out the airbag on the driver’s side if he could have figured a way to do so and not destroy the steering wheel.
Personally, I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s and can recall *cutting out the seatbelts * in my mom’s Chevy Vega because they’d get in the way when we’d get in and out of the car (a two door). I didn’t start wearing a seatbelt until Hallgirl 1 was on the way, some 22 years ago, and have worn them since.
The Hallkids never got into a vehicle where they weren’t wearing a seatbelt, and the rule was that our car never moved unless everyone was buckled up (the only time my dad would ever put one on, and even then, it was a fight).
It pisses me off to see a kid bouncing around the back seat, or hanging out the window of a moving vehicle. However, this isn’t the pit, so I’ll stop there. While I think that it should be the decision of an adult if they want to wear a seatbelt or not, I think our tax dollars (for police enforcement of wearing a seatbelt) could be better spent elsewhere other than ticketing drivers who aren’t buckled. That being said, I think that if a child isn’t buckled, the parents should be charged with child endangerment and Social Services should investigate. (What other dangerous or careless occurances are happening with the child?)
Seatbelt and helmet laws are silly. Laws mandating their availabilty are only slightly less silly… but they’re still important. (This is, in fact, a problem I have with libertarianism. Seatbelts would not be standard equipment in cars ca 1960-70, if it was not legislated. But legislating it isn’t entirely proper, IMHO. To be resolved later)
Seatbelts save lives. They saved my life once or twice. I’ve actually rolled a Civic at 30 MPH. Corkscrew hillside road, wet leaves, and an oncoming truck decided to share my lane with me.
Also, a earlier wreck where… well, it was my fault, I was inexperienced, but I was doing stop and go and I managed to drive my car into the rear of a flatbed with no car-stopper. Inch wide strip of metal was the point of impact, and it stuffed the engine down between the front wheels. I still have whiplash from it, but it would have been worse. The seatbelt anchors you to a car, making you part of the car’s inertial frame of reference. As opposed to a free body. Which is bad, as the car can soak a lot more inertia than you can.
I wear 'em. Always have, always will. Laws are darn stupid, but you should wear one anyhow.
One argument that hasn’t been mentioned yet is that people in accidents not wearing seatbelts become projectiles and a danger to other people in the car. If you’re driving alone and you have no problem with being launched through your window, fine for you, but when you have passengers, do you really want your child to become a projectile, hitting the window and possibly you?
For people who don’t wear seatbelts, do you not wear them because you don’t think you’ll ever get in an accident, or because you think you’ll be safer without a belt on?
One point about the illegality of not wearing seatbelts is that it’s not nice to let other people accidentally kill or maim you. If I made a mistake driving and caused a car accident, it would be even more unpleasant if I killed someone in the process. Also, I’m guessing that it wouldn’t be hard to sue someone that caused you injury in a car accident, even if that injury could have been prevented by wearing a seatbelt.
Another thing is that (apparently) not wearing a seatbelt increases the risk of injury for other people in the car, because your body can bash into people in a collision. I’m not in any position to back that up, though.
I’m not necessarily agreeing with these points of view; my mind isn’t really made up on this subject. However, it should be noted that not wearing a seatbelt can potentially jerk other people around as well as risking one’s health. On review, a few people made similar points about society having to afford subsequent healthcare, etc. I think my points are worth adding, though, because there are many instances in the world where people who don’t look after their health (or whatever) end up being a bigger strain on the budget, so it’s hard to draw a line. I guess it is anyway, but… I went to all the trouble of typing my post out, so there it is.
And addressing the law aspect, as far as I know, seatbelt laws were created with personal safety in mind. These are the same type of laws that are in force in the construction industry that are put in place to save lives from construction accidents (fall protection, enclosed space regulations, etc.) Do those of you who disagree with seatbelt laws also disagree with workplace safety laws? What is different in your mind if you see the two types of laws as different?
Like, perhaps, having the paramedics scrape people off the road after they go through the windshield? Of having the police notify relatives to come an identify the body at the morgue?
featherlou…Workplace safety laws generally protect workers from employers who might not operate with employees interests at heart otherwise. Honestly, I would rather not have laws mandating a safe work place, but rather allow economics (threat of lawsuits) guide employers on their actions.
Of course, there are some supporters of the current tort reform movement who would like the best of both worlds—absence of laws mandating a safe workplace, AND heavy restrictions on lawsuits.
That won’t work - I believe doctors and hospitals are obligated to (try to) save people’s lives regardless of their ability to pay.
Anyway, even if such a contract were valid, I’d want to add a clause that says if I cause an accident and someone not wearing a seatbelt is killed or injured, I cannot be held responsible for their injury or death. In fact I should be able to sue them for emotional pain.
I thought that was the whole point of workplace safety laws - so you can sue your employer for violating those laws. If those laws weren’t in place, what are you going to sue your employer for?
Yes, I alway wear my seatbelt, and insist all my passengers do as well. I am in total agreement with seatbelt advocates. It’s not seat belts that I have trouble with, but rather with their enforcement laws.
Not that some level of state intrusion is unreasonable. Time was when a trooper would see kids bouncing around free in a car and have the authority to pull it over. The driver was of an age to decide for him or herself, but the kids were not, so belt them up. But now everyone has to be belted, or else.
Tellingly, when first set into effect, Washington State’s ticket for being unbelted was $80. Now that we’re facing serious buget shortfalls, it’s now $101. (similarly, if you leave your car running in the winter to warm up while you finish getting ready for work, it’s a $30 fine, since you’re encouraging car thieves). I’m just not convinced that this is revenue enhancement in the guise of “the Mommy State.” It’s as if someone in Olympia, stymied at his red-ink ledgerbook in the capitol building, strolled the few blocks to the bridge over I-5, watched all the cars going by and though “look at all that money driving by. They’d freak out at another gas tax hike, especially with gas at 1.35 a gallon. There’s got to be some other way to squeeze them and still look like we’re the good guys.”
Seatbelts? Always, always, always wear mine, but I find it crap that wearing them is the law.
I’m just thankful I grew up when I did, pre-“government = overprotective mom”. Every summer was spent traveling the country in our Travelall, and the entire massive fold-down back seat area was my play area. I can’t imagine what those trips would have been like had I have had to spend those weeks strapped in… :: shudder ::
I always wear my belt, and my kids will always be strapped in. I’m just glad I didn’t have to go through that (and, of course, that dad never wrapped that sucker around a pole or anything…).
On June 6, 1995 I was in an automobile accident. It was 5:30 in the morning, the weather was bad, and I lost control of my pickup. I was wearing a searbelt and I survived, but not without cost. I had a traumatic brain injury (closed head) anyway and the month of June continued in my absence. I became self aware again on about July 3, 1995 and it would be three years before I would have the mental capacity or the motor skills to exist as an individual again. I have fully recovered from my accident and I am in college studying civil engineering. Today I commute 100+ miles per day and I do not wear a seatbelt. I would rather die on the highway than risk surviving an automobile accident and possibly living as an invalid again.
The state of South Carolina has a mandatory seatbelt law that they are in the process of making tougher. In the state of South Carolina you can ride a motorcycle on the interstate, almost naked, and be within the boundries of what is legal. I do not believe that the legislators really give a shit about public safety.
As I alluded to, I would rather the government stay out. If you work at a deli, the deli owner would ideally provide a safe workplace because (s)he doesn’t want you to cut off a hand. Either because (s)he truly cares about your well being, or because (s)he is worried about a lawsuit.
Because often healthier food is more expensive, harder to find, more difficult to prepare, and/or doesn’t taste as good. Check.
Because they make you feel good. Temporarily, at least. Check.
Because you’re in a hurry, or just feeling impatient, or because it’s more fun to drive fast. Check.
There are reasons to do all of the above. Short-sighted irrational reasons, often, but reasons. But buckling your seatbelt? Pull out seatbelt, click tab into slot. It takes two seconds. It doesn’t feel bad. It doesn’t cost anything. And it turns off the fucking dinging noise, which, personally, I hate with the fire of a thousand “Check Engine” lights. So why the hell not buckle up?
Is there some kind of thrill to it? Does it make you feel naughty and aroused? Does it make you feel like a badass? What am I missing every time I buckle up? (Aside from a chance to get a ticket from the County Mounties, or to smear my bloody carcass down two hundred feet of asphalt, I mean.)
I’ve heard lots of reasons that I personally find highly questionable but what I totally do not get is people who don’t have any reason at all.
Looking back, I guess I wore my seatbelt more often in the pre-seatbelt law days. Knowing myself, I think some of my reason is just that I feel like thumbing my nose at a “bad” law. The reason I am having trouble coming up with a reason is because I do not really even think about it. I get in, start the car, turn on a CD, and drive.
I wear seat belts, but I don’t think adults should be required to wear them.
I do think that insurance law should take that choice into account. If you are in an accident, even if that accident is the other car’s fault, then your injuries should be covered by your own insurance and you should not have the right to sue for pain & suffering since you did not take reasonable steps to limit that pain.
Two things I can think of. First, there is some restriction to movement, as when I dip down into the passenger footwell to root through the CD case. Secondly, if I am wearing a seat belt I feel a twinge when I see the “Buckle Up It’s The Law” signs.
Shitty reasons, but this is the first time I’ve really thought hard about it…
I’d agree with this. I’m so much less apt to wear a seatbelt when making a short, slow speed trip due to the fact that there is a law on the books which I find to be reprehensible. I wear my belt at all times on the highway, in the slightest inclement weather, etc, but if I’m driving the 6 blocks to the grocery store (on my congested city streets) I’m not buckling up. If the law didn’t anger me so much, I’d probably consider it since, frankly, wearing one doesn’t really bug me. The law (enforcement, ridiculously high fines and corrupt motives) makes me damn near insane with anger however.
Fucking traffic laws and insurance companies. We need to nuke both systems and start from scratch. If the cops acted the least bit humanistic in the enforcement, and/or used a glimmer of common sense maybe I wouldn’t think these laws are as evil as they are and might tolerate a little loss of liberty once in a while too.
How long have such laws typically been in place in America? I’m amazed that the topic arouses such passion! Britain made front-seat belts compulsory in 1983, and rear seats in 1991, and nobody now could get as angry as what I’m seeing here.