Jetta TDI vs Hybrid on 1 Tank from Seattle to San Francisco

it is probably more me than anything, but having been a military brat AND been in the military (not to mention being a bit of a nomad for much of my 20's) i have done a LOT of long car trips in all kinds of cars.

even back in the days where wearing seat belts were rare and there was still enough room in the FRONT seat to have sex, it was never comfortable for me. stopping every two hours to stretch was way too long for me. but back then, that is about how often you had to stop to get gas. it was 70 mph back then, 10-12 mpg, so it didnt take long.

now with having to wear seat belts, its impossible to stay comfortable. but i have done as much as 5 hours without stopping (Damn Pri...NEVER needs gas!!) which doesnt sound all that bad, but if in the middle of a 12 hour drive it is. i can tell you for certain, seat adjustments would only be an incremental benefit to me.

 

fun to drive?? buddy, my last car was a BMW 330ci...THAT was fun to drive...and I got 20 mpg and couldn't carry anything! I bought the Prius to get better mileage and with its hatchback, I can carry tons of things (which I do regularly). Period. Diesel car? No thanks

 

Just like mandatory seat belt laws, we have some stupid regulations here

 

What is stupid is not wearing a belt. The belts can be annoying but the alternative of not wearing one is not good. As a driver the belt improves my control. As a passenger it can be annoying and restrictive (such as when you want to nap) but there is still a very good reason to stay belted in.

Had a nasty little collision a few years ago, same size vehicles, corner to corner. I was able to maintain my driving position and regain control of my vehicle after the impact (once I got my feet back on the pedals and bring it to a stop. The other driver and his passenger were not wearing their belts but did have airbags (I did not). The airbags helped them when they struck me, but when they ran into a pole a second later they both ended up in the hospital after striking the windshield--airbags don't help for the second collision. I literally walked away.

Another thing about having mandatory seat belt regs is that it cuts short arguments with passengers-especially kids-who don't want to wear them.

Now I do find some of the various state laws about child seats unhelpful. I support the car seats, but only up to the age where the shoulder seat belts appear more effective and safer.

 

Agreed. While there are some silly laws, requiring seat belt use is not one of them. I have seen some of the short and long-term negative impacts of individuals who don't wear a seat belt and are thrown out or hit the windshield. Not a good scenario.

 

My point is that in the state of Illinois:

It is illegal and you can recieved a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. It can be the singular reason why you're pulled over and given a ticket.

It is PERFECTLY LEGAL to ride a motorcycle without a helmet on, for you or the passenger


I think it's stupid to require people in a steel box to wear a piece of fabric across their lap, while if you're on a motorcycle NO protection is needed.

Either enforce seat belts and helmet laws, or don't pull me over for not wearing a seat belt (I wear a seat belt at all times, it's just the principle of the law)

I've been in a head-on collision before, I know the benefits of a seat belt

 

I agree about lack of helmet laws, but that doesn't really impact the seat belt laws.

One of the key issues with both is that the rest of us end up paying for the dunces without their belts or helmets. (It's even worse if they have kids or passengers.) Take the clown who ran into me. He ran the signal and was clearly at fault as attested by witnesses and the officer who wrote the report, as well as his own insurance. Yet he tried to sue me (nobody would take the case for him.) His passenger of course sued us both and since the passenger was not responsible for the wreck itself he could find an ambulance chaser to take his weak case. I refused to settle even for a nuisance amount. At the time of the accident, not wearing a belt was inadmissable as evidence...although that changed shortly before the scheduled court date. :thumb: By the time we had picked a jury the result was a foregone conclusion (his attorney was inept and committed several blunders related to admissability during voir dire. I was having a lot of fun at this point.)

 

I used to play drums for a very talented, very cool guitarist who moved up North several years ago. Anyrate, he rolled his Tacoma pickup while driving I-5 back from LA. Had his seatbelt on. If he did not have the belt on, I'm quite sure he would have been killed.

I'm sure statistics show seatbelts dramatically reduce injuries and fatalities. Without them, you are just thrown around in your vehicle or outside of it.

Oh, and heads don't hold up well against pavement, so I'm all for motorcycle helmet laws too.

 

Dang it - I'm ALL FOR seat belt laws, I just hate it when laws don't make sense. I guess seat belts apply to a much larger majority so a law makes sense, but if you're going to have seat belt laws PLEASE have helmet laws too. Don't take seat belt laws away, but just get a helmet law in the books is all I'm saying

 

Amen, slickQUICKprius!

Seatbelts and brain-buckets for everyone!

 

I just edited the guts out of this post because it was wrong after reading further posts. I had a knee jerk reaction.

This is stupid law.
I wont ride without a full face helmet (helmet required by law), motorcycle boots and a jacket with armour built into the shoulders and sleeves.

 

A lady at work rolled her Camry in some particularly nasty weather. She wasn't wearing a belt and was ejected through the sunroof (which I assume was closed at the time). I believe the car rolled over her. At any rate she was killed instantly.

A seatbelt saved my life once and quite possibly my wife's as well (separate accidents.)

 

People always focus on extremely rare events, but ignore common events

Eg: folks will shovel money into lottery tickets, which are nothing more than a tax on the poor/stupid. Folks won't wear a seatbelt in the belief a seatbelt will "kill" them, even though it's very, very rare for that to happen, vis-a-vis being unbelted