This is the one which shows 3 different drivers coming up on a wreck or other investigation and trying desperately to get their seat belts across their chests, but sometimes not succeeding to secure it in its slot.
Okay, the PSA makes sure to tell us that officers “have been trained” to recognize when this is going on and will ticket us if they see it.
I’d be interested in knowing exactly what this training involves unless there’s a total roadblock, which would give someone plenty of time to secure their belts before being stopped.
I was personally surprised that this is even a problem—I’ve had “buckle up” drilled into me pretty thoroughly since Sesame Street, I don’t even think about it.
People of a certain size tend to find wearing seatbelts (at least the over-the-shoulder part) uncomfortable. Many years ago when I was still growing, I used to push the over-the-shoulder part behind me because it was so uncomfortable, but eventually I grew to a point that was no longer a problem. Beyond that, I really can’t understand any reason why someone would choose not to wear a seat belt. And no reason why they would choose not to wear one at all (I always wore the belt across my waist, after all, even when the shoulder strap was too uncomfortable to use).
I too, wonder what kind of ‘training’ an officer could possibly receive to let them spot whether someone is wearing their seat belt or not, especially if the officer is stationary and the person is moving at 45+ miles per hour. That goes double for when you consider whether the person is wearing the seat belt across their waist and perhaps not using the shoulder strap.
Every story I’ve heard of where someone was stopped for not wearing a seatbelt usually involved moving slowing, like leaving a parking lot or at a stoplight.
I think these must be aimed at older people, based on my personal, unscientific experience.
When I was in the Air Force we’d have to have pre-vacation safety briefings. Honestly, every one from my age group (I’m 25 now) didn’t have to be told to wear a seatbelt because that’s been something we’ve done for as long as we can remember. It’s the older folks that may have grown up without wearing seatbelts who have to remember to put them on.
I’ve seen a number of the PSAs in my area for the past year or so. I too have to wonder why it’s even an issue. I’ve been putting my seatbelt on for my whole life, it’s simply something you do, period.
WAG, the PSA is just a bullshit scare tactic, hoping to get people to wear them if not out of fear of dying then out of fear of a ticket, and cops have absolutely no way under normal driving circumstances to recognize any such thing.
For the record, I always wear a seat belt, but don’t there should be laws requiring it.
There always seem to be a lot of these commercials right around the US summer holidays (Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day) because there’s so many more people on the roads, along with commericals warning about the consequences of drunk driving and not using child safety seats.
I’ve been baffled by one of the radio PSAs. You hear the sounds associated with police/fire/ambulance crews responding to an auto accident, including a bunch of radio chatter. And amongst the radio chatter, people keep mentioning things like, “None of the occupants were wearing seatbelts” and “If they’d been wearing their seatbelts, their injuries would be less severe…”, etc.
If these voices were supposed to be officers talking to a reporter, or amongst themselves, it would make some sense to me. But these voices are clearly supposed to sound like emergency responders talking to dispatchers via their radios. Having been raised by a state patrol officer, I’m pretty certain there are more urgent matters to attend to in the midst of trying to save the lives of accident victims than relaying the victims’ seatbealt-wearing status to the dispatcher. What, is the dispatcher supposed to make a note so the police don’t forget to send the victim a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt once they’re out of the hospital?
There are apparently people who don’t wear seat belts. Read about this local accidentlast week. 40 years old, mother of two…can’t believe she didn’t have a seat belt on.
The statistics are that only 15% of people don’t wear their seat-belts, but over half of the fatalities are for people who are not restrained. Improving seat belt compliance seems fairly cost effective.
The seat belt laws also give the officer a neat tool to issue other tickets (driving without a license, failure to provide insurance/registration info, driving under suspension, and of course, DUI/DWI/OWI, open containers, etc.). I’m sure it’s the case in most states that if you don’t have your insurance card/documention at hand, that’s a ticket even if you’re up to date.
Our seat belt law used to be just the opposite in that it was a secondary offense and they had to stop you for something else first before they could ticket you for no seat belt. Now it’s a primary offense as of about 3 or 4 years ago. Also, in most instances, they will dismiss the no proof of insurance one if you bring the card to court with you.
What really irks me is the “Under The Influence, Under Arrest” campaign.
Ok, even though I feel DUI is more often than not used as a fundraiser and think the laws are laughably strict (sorry, a drunk guy who is rooting around in his back seat of his car for a CD to bring into the house is not “driving under the influence”, even if he’s <gasp> holding his car keys), I’m fine with nailing someone’s ass to the wall if they’re actually driving drunk.
That said, give me a fucking break with your oozing pompous bullshit “If you drink and drive, you will get caught, and you will go to jail” campaign. Hey, that’s great news – you’ve completely solved the issue of DWI, and absolutely no one will ever get away with it again! The cops in my family absolutely cringe over the super-douchey attitude those commercials put out. It’s almost like they’re challenging people to drink and drive! Fucking ridiculous campaign.
