Ok, I see three people:
don’t ask doesn’t like them.
pohjonen says they are not made for tall people.
And gigi - only sometimes.
My apologies for not seeing them.
I’ve luckily only been in two car accidents in 30+ years.
First was before seat belts were used - we hit a car waiting at traffic lights at about **5 miles per hour ** (the driver saw them too late but was braking).
Driver and I both went to hospital for minor knee + head injuries.
Second was on a motorway with both of us wearing seatbelts - we had a left front tyre burst at about **65 miles per hour **.
Driver successfully steered car safely into hard shoulder. He said the original fierce jerk to the left would have thrown him into the passenger seat except for being safely belted up.
I wear a belt whether riding in front or back. I would be dead today if it weren’t for seatbelts.
And for all the years I spent as a cop, I never unbuckled a dead body from a car. Sure saw bits and pieces of unbelted folks strewn around, though.
While this thread seems very pro-seatbelt, I remember a thread a few months back with quite a few chiming in that they don’t/won’t wear them. I believe that thread was more of a debate about whether it should be a law.
I usually don’t bother. Might do if I go on the motorway. Otherwise, no. Don’t like 'em.
Beautiful. Beaureau. Bureau? Beauru? Whatever.
Also museaum. Musueam. Museum. Got it.
“Byootiful”
“Byiroh”
“Myuseum”
I always wear mine — it’s on before I ever start my car a habit I picked up after a family friend’s daughter died in an accident during high school. She was fairly conscientious about wearing her belt; unfortunately, she was running late for work one day and hadn’t finished buckling up before she pulled out of her driveway on the highway. As she pulled out, she was hit by an 18-wheeler. She might not have survived even if she had it on but it made a fairly big impression on me.
Force of habit from an early age, but I hope I’d be sensible enough to wear one anyway. I always buckle up, any journey, any car, any seat. If you’re my passenger I won’t drive off without you wearing one.
They have belts in express buses here in Northern Ireland (and probably the rest of the UK) which I’ve never used. Guess I’m used to city buses not having them, that and sitting far back from the front of the bus and being lulled to sleep by the noise and vibrations of the engine after a few minutes.
seatbelts absolutely should be a law. as previously pointed out, in the states, driving is a priviledge; not a right.
frankly, it isn’t me i’m worried about. its the other guy. i’ve never caused an accident. (furiously knocking wood while i type…) i don’t want some moron coming at me from the other direction at 40 mph without that seatbelt on.
i never wore seatbelts as a kid. neither parent put any real interest in it.
that sure changed in the summer of 1981. we rear-ended a car full of tourists in southern florida at 35 mph. i wasn’t buckled up, nor was anyone else in our GMC van.
my mother broke her leg, my aunt bruised her chest on the steering wheel, a friend got her head sliced open from flying debris of some kind, and i hit the dashboard and windshield. the knee got to the dashboard - breaking the dash in two places - before my face got to the windshield, which is why i’m not talking out of my ears today. the knee wasn’t broken, but it still gives me trouble. still better than my face doing same.
that was the end of not wearing seatbelts by anyone in my family. today, indiana law requires you wear one in a passenger vehicle. i wear one when i drive pickup trucks or simply drive cross the street for a gallon of milk.
Another potential argument as to why they should be mandatory; It should result in a statistical reduction in the number of serious injuries and deaths per serious accident.
Why is this my concern? Why should I care whether you seriously injure or kill yourself in a serious accident?
Because with more walking wounded and less unconscious bleeders, paramedics should be able to spend less time performing triage and get on with treatment quicker; there’s statistically less chance that I’ll bleed to death from my injuries (which of course no seatbelt or safety system can ever totally eliminate) before they even get to me.
You missed me! Now I have to contemplate the fact that I am possibly invisisble to the rest of the world, or perhaps my posts are so lackluster they recieve absolutely no attention. Gonna be a long day in Rancid’s world. 
I occassionally wore a seatbelt before it became an enforced law. I wear one more often since it became law, but not all the time. And when I do wear them, I often use a ‘clamp like’ paper clip to put some slack in the shoulder strap.
On a personal note, I hate seat belt laws with the exception of requiring minor children buckled up. It shouldn’t be any of Government’s damn business AFAIC whether an adult wears one.
I always wore them; the wife too. And that’s an awfully good thing, because just yesterday the wife was cruising down the road in our new mini-van with our 5 & 2 year old kids in the back seats when she lost control in the snow and flipped the van over. Apparently they spent short amount of time sliding upside down on the roof until the van flipped back over onto its wheels. Noboby was injured and the kids didn’t even cry - they were just like ‘What’d you do THAT for, MOM!?!’
Seatbelts really are good idea anytime the vehicle is in motion.
My parents had them on installed in a 63 Olds. It wasn’t out of concern for our safety (as kids anyway); instead it served as a restraints to keep the fights from spreading from the back seat to the front seat. Regardless, the habit sticks. I get paranoid whenever I get aboard any moving vehical (plane, bus, etc.) and I can’t buckle in. I won’t drive a vehicle unless everyone is buckled up.
The single event that is most burned into my mind about seat-belt use was watchin a car being towed. It had been in a front end accident. On the windsheild were two oval shaped dimples, head sized, covered with blood. One was right in front of the steeting wheel which the other was about 10 inches away at an angle. It look like to me a couple; the boyfriend was driving and his girlfriend was snugged right next to him. I don’t know if they survived or not.
First of all, I’m really, REALLY glad to hear no one was hurt. Second, seeing the eyes through the world of children is very entertaining sometimes. Just be glad neither of them asked her to do it again. 
No, they didn’t ask her to do it again, but the 5 year old spent much of last night showing me just exactly what happened using his Hot Wheels cars, then proceeded to tell everyone at school this morning about his adventure. 
Mom is trying to keep her sense of humor up - she feels awful about the whole thing.
No big deal now - nobody was hurt, the van will be fixed and that’s why we have seatbelts and insurance and rental cars and all that. Surprisingly, the van suffered very little damage considering the ride it took.
Well, if it affected you and only you, then yeah, I’d asgree. But thew fact of the matter is that you not wearing a seatbelt is a hazard to the other occupants of the car, occupants of other cars, and pedestrians/bystanders on the side of the road. Not to mention that fact that by not wearing one, you could easily force EMTs to spend more time on you and les time on someone else, force them to use more supplies, and/or force someone to mop your bleeding ass off the highway. These things cost money. Taxpayer money. Not to mention the extra monery my taxes pay to cover the cost of all the seat belt violation tickets in court.
And, as someone else said, the government is the one letting you drive. They can place any damn restrictions on it they want.
Well, I’m not gonna say anything except to point you to previous posts with examples of where drivers were kept in front of the steering wheel by their seatbelts in minor accidents (thus able to retain control of the car) and other stories where the driver was thrown away from the steering wheel and were unable to recover control before the car careened into something else (such as another car) and causing the minor accident to become a major one.
Yeah! Stop spending all my tax money, you unbuckled hippies! (I jest, but he has a good point).
Yes, I do wear a seat belt. I learned from a race driver that the main reason for wearing a seat belt is to keep you in your seat so that you can regain control of your vehicle after the first bump. It’s harder than hell to steer when half your body is hanging out a window or stuffed under the dash. My passengers wear seat belts also. I don’t want them in my lap when I’m trying to control my steel dragon.