driving with/without seat belts... do you?

the law requires it because some people are too STUPID to know any better... plain and simple...

its the same as not allowing discharge of firearms in city limits. because if allowed, people would do it. why?>? because some people are too STUPID to know that what goes up must come down and will come down at about 125 mph... with more than enough force to crack a head.

that is why seat belt use is the law and a damn good one at that.

 

Yes, but the bullet that you fire might come down and land on me. Unless the seatbelt law is meant to stop people from being ejected from their cars and flying into innocent bystanders, the analogy falls a little short

 

no it doesnt and let me tell you why...

if some IDIOT decides to kill himself on the street in fron of my house by not wearing a seatbelt, that would not affect me right??

wrong...

because when i go to renew my insurance, it will be based on the driving statistics and habits of the people in my neighborhood. that includes IDIOTS who die unnecessarily by not wearing a seatbelt.

 

bob i agree with you and yes i didnt always wear a seat belt or wear a helmet (even on a motorcycle...wasnt required so i didnt do it.)

but times change and they dont change accidents, time changes what we know. now we know seat belts save lives. there was a time when that wasnt true nearly as often as it is today. seat belts have evolved along with our knowledge and laws.

15 years ago, i would never have had an opinion about seat belts. but now i do. am i a hypocrit? of course not... i am just learning and if some feel my post is a bit over the top then good. i hope it pisses someone off. i hope it pisses them off so much that they stop and takes a good hard look at why they are risking putting a huge hardship on their family needlessly.

 

Because I was wearing seat belt and rent car which I rented equipped with airbag, That Save My Life 10yrs ago. :roll:
You might guess story... And its no falt...

 

I hope no one is pissed off. I did read anyone's post as over the top. I've been driving for 25 years now and have always worn a seat belt. It was always required for the driver as long as I can remember and I've never felt safe without one. Everyone riding with me will be belted in! I just have issues with government mandates over things that supposedly only affect the individual citizen. Yes, you are right about the insurance rates. Cost of hospital care too.... It just seems... I don't know....

I love my Prius though!!!

 

a few months ago, a bunch of kids were out joyriding. there were 5 kids in the car. they rolled their SUV off a cliff. all had injuries but the two that wore seat belts are in school as i speak.

the other 3 are done with school and life.

 

The first car I ever drove (A Toyota) would not even start without having your seat belt on. I have been that way ever since, will not start my vehicle until everybody is strapped in! There is a great video out called "Room to Live" done by a retired Highway Patrol Officer. When I first joined the California Army National Guard around 29+ years ago (Yeah I am still in) they did not have belts in the large trucks and I had a hard time driving them, felt like I was going to fall out. Belts are now mandatory equipment in all vehicles.
PLEASE wear your seat belt.

 

To expand on DaveinOlyWA's content: as I remember it, the bodyguard who was the only survivor of the automobile accident that killed Princess Diana was also the only one in that car wearing a seatbelt. A good example when talking to patients about the importance of wearing seatbelts.

 

that Toyota that would start unless you are wearing a seat belt is a good idea.

my parents used to have a Toyota Cressida (1990 or so i believe) it had separate two stage seatbelts. the shoulder belts were automatic and were put on as you close the door in both front seats. you put on the lap belt yourself.

 

And to expand further on Diana's death. That car was estimated to be going over 90 MPH when it hit that cement poll. The car was destroyed but the passenger compartment was rather still intact.

The cement pole that got hit is still there with barely a scratch.

 

Always have worn a seatbelt and always worn a helmet on my Harley (yes, on a Harley).

The very idea of someone wearing a helmet on the ultimate 'freedom ride' probably doesn't work for some. It doesn't look 'cool', it limits your sight, etc. Many excuses. Most are pretty poor for beating the odds of surviving a 2-wheel crash without a helmet.

I'd even say that of all the 'enthusiasts' that visit the Sturgis Rally here in the Black Hills, the ones without helmets that do crash, never get to visit us again...

I've been in only 1 serious car wreck. I wasn't wearing a belt, hit the windshield hard, ended up in the hospital with a tube down my throat! I do wonder if my hospital trip could have been avoided by wearing the seat belt. All signs point to yes.

Drive fun, drive clean, drive Prius!

 

in the many years that i rode a motorcycle, the one and only reason i wore a helmet (until it became a law that is) was when it was cold out. it did do a great job of keeping my head warm.

 

Seatbelt saved my life when I was 9. The officer at the scene said I would've been ripped in half if not for wearing my seatbelt, which I had off just a minute before to take off my winter coat.

An airbag also saved my life. It inflated and gave me a good right hook to the nose/lip, which woke me up and gave me the needed 2 or 5 milliseconds to jerk the wheel in the opposite direction of the oncoming telephone pole (the airbag deployed when hitting the curb at 50mph). And uh, with the airbag already being deployed, even the seatbelt wouldn't have saved me in that accident.

-m.

 

A little more of the same...
It's absolutely crucial that everyone in the vehicle is wearing their seatbelt properly, and that their head restraint is properly adjusted.
Just after I started driving alone, I had a serious accident that totalled my car; the seat belt saved my life. Take physics 101.... your body will not withstand the force of contacting the inside of your vehicle or the road at any normal driving speed.
It might sound weird, but I get a really good feeling whenever I hear the seat belt beep. Toyota cares about me and knows that I need to wear my seat belt at all times; it's that simple.
Everyday, I usually see someone driving along without a seatbelt; they simply must not understand what can happen to them. I have seen an Explorer roll over and eject passengers and kill them; it's utterly horrific.
Also, not to be forgotten, put your head restraint all the way up!!! Toyota put five good ones in the 2004/5 Prius and they need not go to waste. Last year my stepdad was waiting at a light when he was rear ended by a drunk driver in an F-250 going 40 mph. His Saab 9-5 has active head restraints. The seat "felt" the pressure of his torso being pushed into the seat and it tilted the head-restraint forward and upward; he didn't even have a sore neck. This is why I am utterly appalled that the government doesn't require head restraints in the rear seats of cars. PEOPLE SIT THERE TOO!!! If my stepdad were in the back seat of a Focus or a Cavalier, he would be dead.
Buckle up, adjust the head restraint and be careful. Not only do you depend on it, the people who love you do too!!!!