Should seatbelts be mandatory?

[VOW]

To Smurfy:

Take a look at some pictures of the results of head-on collisions. If you survive one, it will be ONLY because of your seat belt and/or the airbag. My insurance company sent out an article to all insureds about a collision which occurred in North Carolina, I believe, right after air bags became available in vehicles. It was a two-lane road, each driver had been doing about 70 MPH, and by a very strange coincidence, BOTH cars had airbags.

If both cars were doing 70 MPH, that would be the same force as ONE car smashing into a block wall at 140 MPH. Nothing much would be left after that.

Both drivers in this collision survived. One had bruises, one received a broken ankle.

But again, like I said above, I've BEEN in an accident. If I hadn't had seatbelts, I would have been severely injured or killed. The vehicle was totalled. So that will color my opinion.


Peace,
~VOW

 

[smurfy2day]

Originally posted by VOW
To Smurfy:

Take a look at some pictures of the results of head-on collisions. If you survive one, it will be ONLY because of your seat belt and/or the airbag. My insurance company sent out an article to all insureds about a collision which occurred in North Carolina, I believe, right after air bags became available in vehicles. It was a two-lane road, each driver had been doing about 70 MPH, and by a very strange coincidence, BOTH cars had airbags.

If both cars were doing 70 MPH, that would be the same force as ONE car smashing into a block wall at 140 MPH. Nothing much would be left after that.

Both drivers in this collision survived. One had bruises, one received a broken ankle.

But again, like I said above, I've BEEN in an accident. If I hadn't had seatbelts, I would have been severely injured or killed. The vehicle was totalled. So that will color my opinion.


Peace,
~VOW

 

Vow, I'm sorry, but I don't believe that. The airbag will either decapitate me or the seatbelt will suffocate me.... I am 5 ft tall and weigh 100 pounds. I believe that no matter what, if I am in a head on collision, I will die.... I would much rather risk going through the windshield and having a chance to live..... at least it would be a chance.....

 

[Dewjunkie]

Originally posted by smurfy2day
Because we pay such high insurance rates, why should we have to pay also for tickets, when again, cops have MUCH more important things to do besides sit and watch for people without seatbelts on? That's more of our tax dollars at waste there folks. They should be letting a few people go if that's all they have to do with their time.

Smurfy, a Police Officers sworn duty is to protect and serve the public.  Part of that duty is to enforce the laws that are in place to protect people.  You're right, we in law enforcement have a lot of other things to do than harrass people for seatbelts.  But if an officer stops someone and doesn't make them put on their seatbelt, and that person drives a mile down the road and dies in an accident because they weren't wearing it, then the officer has failed in his duty to the public and THAT would be a waste of your tax dollars. 

I don't know where you live, but most Highway Patrol agencies have some wonderful video footage of actual accident scenes (In CA they're called the "Red Asphalt" series).  There are some beautiful images of people in various states of mutilation and dismemberment as a result of ejection from a vehicle.  Perhaps you should watch a few of these and maybe rethink your stance on seatbelts.  I bet if they had it to do over again, they would.   

 

[Kristy]

My disagreement to seatbelt laws Is not due to me being petty or not wanting to wear one. I wear mine all the time it is the first thing my kids do when they get in the car. I just dont think the government should have the right to control me and my actions so much.

My mother always wears her belt never fails. But one day she was haveing a perticularly bad day. So bad that her guardian angel bailed out on her (she had an angel on her keychain that fell off that day) She got her grandaughter from school told her to put her belt on forgot all about her own and got a ticket. My mother is 60 yrs old never had any driving violations before and now she has a smudge on her record due to a bad day. an over stressed mind and a stupid law.

 

[Dewjunkie]

The issue is not governmental control. You still have every right to not wear your seatbelt. If you get caught, you pay. Just the same as you still have the right to not pay taxes, but if you get caught, you pay. The law is there because someone saw an overwhelming amount of fatalities from not wearing seatbelts and decided it would be in the best interest of society to make wearing them mandatory. When society proves itself unable to continually make wise choices and protect itself, then government needs to be there to assist in protecting it.

 

[waterwizard]

Originally posted by Dewjunkie
The issue is not governmental control. You still have every right to not wear your seatbelt. If you get caught, you pay. Just the same as you still have the right to not pay taxes, but if you get caught, you pay. The law is there because someone saw an overwhelming amount of fatalities from not wearing seatbelts and decided it would be in the best interest of society to make wearing them mandatory. When society proves itself unable to continually make wise choices and protect itself, then government needs to be there to assist in protecting it.

Where will it end?  Who decides what's  in our "best interest"? 

It's in our best interest not to smoke, but smoking cigarettes is still legal.  It's in our best interest not to fall off a ladder, should we outlaw climbing ladders?  It's in our best interest to have health and dental insurance, when will we be required to buy these? 

When society proves itself unable to continually make wise choices and protect itself, then they should pay the consequences and learn from their unwise choices, not let the powers that be decide that for them. 

 

[kiwimac]

Lets not be silly here!, In NZ seatbelts are mandatory. You can be & will be fined if you don't have one on. The death rate due to car accidents has dropped considerably as has the severely injured rate.

Sometimes a seat belt won't help, these times are few & far between, most times it will. As for kids in the back / back seat passengers being strapped in, too [wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth] right they should be!, Who wants to be hit in the back of the head by a 25 kilo kid travelling at 70 kph ?

Kiwimac

 

[VOW]

Hey Wizard!

Problem is, PEOPLE want the government to take all the responsibility. I work for the State Dept of Transportation, and you'd think people believe the driver's license and the car plates entitle them to risk-free driving. If the guy coming in the opposite direction is drunk, and wipes out your car, kills people inside, OBVIOUSLY the State did a lousy job of designing the highway. Kids get crazy, cram into a 4WD and take the mountain curves too fast, slam into a guardrail and nobody survives, hey, the State put that lethal guard rail up!

The government is getting blamed for the stupidity and carelessness of the people. So why shouldn't the government take extra steps to protect the citizens against the consequences of stupidity?


DJ:

/me gags a bit in memory...

"Red Asphalt" is still around? [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse], I saw that in my Driver Ed class over thirty years ago...


Peace,
~VOW

 

[Dewjunkie]

Wizard,

If there were an epidemic of people falling off ladders, then I'm sure the government would address the issue. However, there aren't 150 million people a day gettting on a ladder and spending hours a day on it.

We elect officials to act on our behalf to establish laws for the betterment of society. If thousands of lives are saved by seatbelts, then society is better. How come no one is complaining about the government taking away your right to kill someone if you don't like them? Or your right to molest children? Laws are there for a reason, and a seatbelt law is only in place to save lives.

 

[dinkime]

i can understand many different sides to this idea.

i think that children need to be properly restrained in cars at all times. i have seen way too many kids standing in backseats, sitting in front seats when you know there is an airbag, etc.

i always wear mybelt in the front seat. i occasionally do in the backseat.

i know that seatbelts save lives, however, my mom was in a car accident when i was 2 years old that could have killed her if she had been wearing her seatbelt (she would have then moved with the seat, not against its motion, and been crushed up against the steering wheel). the firefighters who helped get her out of the car told her to be thankful that she was NOT wearing it...an exception, but still a blessing!

 

[waterwizard]

Originally posted by VOW
Problem is, PEOPLE want the government to take all the responsibility.

And the government is all too happy to oblige.  They relieve us of personal responsibility, then they can do as they please with us.  We stop thinking for ourselves and let our government do the thinking for us, we will soon not be able to do so.  It has to start somewhere, and it will continue to grow until it is either stopped or it completely takes us over.

Which way do we want it to go?

 

[paulewog]

*ahem* This is not private life. Hello, you're driving on a PUBLIC road. You *don't* have to wear a seatbelt if you're in your driveway or backyard.

I think it should be mandatory. You could complain about a lot of things - such as speed limits. "I got a ticket for speeding, I don't think we should have speed limits." Or, double yellow lines, or driving on the right side of the road, or who knows what else.

I think our government IS way too big, but you need road laws. People don't like wearing seatbelts because it's not as fun and you can't move as easy.... oh well? I *could* go 90 on the freeway, quite easily, too.

seatbelts are important wherever you sit - ok, sure, there are those cases everyone hypes up about getting trapped or something, but those are rare cases, they save waaaay more lives.

(by the way, my dad works in a hospital that's a trauma center, they hear about the no-seatbelt-things quite often)

Again, government IS too big. But not in everything. You can argue all you want about your private life, but some things SHOULD be against the law... if you want to murder someone, that's in your private life too, but that should be against the law, eh? (extreme example, but just making the point)

But, ah, they SHOULDN'T outlaw God from public places, taht's crazy And taxes and all these 'programs' and .... ehhh don't get me started