Should seat belt laws be enforced?

[undeterred]

It infringes on personal freedom, but also saves lives. I haven't had a ticket for those rare occasions when I don't wear it, but I imagine I'd be pretty ticked off if I had to pay a hefty fine for something which does not affect or endanger anyone but me.

[benburch]

1. Yes.

And not wearing belts should result in license suspension.

[nonconformist]

11. Suspension?

That's a tad harsh, don't you think?

[benburch]

16. Nope.

I have been at accidents where people were ejected who WOULD have been saved had they been belted in. At one, a Nice fluffy airbag deployed and this fellow was ejected out the passenger side of the windshield.

His face was torn off.

A Marine and I got down into the swampy slough next to the road to render first aid. Wa had to clear mud and broken dentures out of what was left of his mouth to keep his airway. We covered him with blankets and waited for the EMS crews. I have never seen anything so hideous in my 47 years, and I had nightmares for weeks.

[nonconformist]

20. Be that as it may.... suspension?

A good friend of mine from high school was crushed in a car accident. Crushed. He was wearing his seat belt.

Seat belts do keep you safer. But horrible, grotesque accidents DO happen, even to people wearing belts.

Once your license is suspended, it can be complicated to get it reinstated. Car insurance rates will go through the roof for years. This person may not be able to get to work or to doctor appointments anymore. Depending on their line of work, they could lose their job.

[Sandpiper]

2. For children yes

For adults no.

I feel the same way about them as I do about motorcycle helmet laws. It's your life, and if you want to take chances with it, why should I stop you?

[whistle]

3. You can leave your seat belts off anytime but don't expect to...

...collect on any accidental auto insurance personal injuries or death benefits. Go ahead, left your belts and those of your passengers unbuckled, it's fine with me.

[Selatius]

4. Well, I think it's up to each individual to decide for himself/herself

For your safety and those in your car, you and they should buckle up. It's common sense. As far as seatbelt laws goes, I'm not in favor of them. Then again, I'm very libertarian on this point.

[Crankie Avalon]

5. It probably doesn't just affect or endanger only you...

...if you pay into accident insurance along with a pool of other people. Plus, if you go flying through a windshield, who knows how you might affect the path of someone else on the road.

[bullimiami]

6. explain to me why a state would eliminate helmet laws

and then clamp down on seatbelt violators?

florida.

something stinks.

[Sandpiper]

13. More people drive cars

Hence, more money to be made in issuing citations for seat belts.

Not enough motorcycle riders to make helmet laws profitable.

[seabeyond]

7. no....... n/t

[sweetheart]

8. no

The police state has gone too far. My safety is MY problem.

[One_Life_To_Give]

9. Soon as we stamp out right handed wiping

Once we eliminate the scourge of people wiping themselves with the wrong hand. We can go after seatbelts.

[nonconformist]

10. Only for children

Adults should have the freedom to make their own choices.

That said, I wear my seatbelt 100% of the time and would even if there were no laws forcing me to do so.

[undeterred]

12. I used to wear the seat belt only for highway driving

I had an accident on the expressway in which I would have been very badly hurt or killed if I had not been wearing my seat belt. For me that translated to wearing it all of the time.

Edit: During the accident I went all the way forward into the seatbelt, which separated a couple of ribs, then backward and broke the headrest with the right side of my face. No broken bones or stitches, but it shook me to the core and left a lot of broken blood vessels/bruises.

[Feron]

14. No.

If you want to take a chance then it is your life. I do agree that any injury claims ,as someone upthread said, should be forfeited if you don't wear a belt.

Personally i consider not wearing a seatbelt and trying to beat a train examples of Darwin in action.

[Pockets]

15. No...

And regarding the insurance issue, injury coverage as a result of non-seatbelt use should be optional. Let non seatbelt users share the expenses of their injuries.

[Lindsey]

17. California just recently started an agressive campaign warning

people to "click it or ticket." My take is that it's Awful Arnold's way of collecting revenue since the state's in so much trouble. I heard that the price of the ticket is in the hundreds of dollars. I don't know that for a fact though.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

18. Yes. To prevent the irretrievably stupid from killing themselves.

[KnaveRupe]

19. No

This is another example of the very human inclination to legislate others' behavior. It's the same logic that is behind the criminalization of drugs.

And if you want to play the insurance card, then you could make the same argument for EVERY type of potentially self-destructive behavior.

"Fat people shouldn't have health insurance - why should *I* have to pay higher premiums because some fat-ass can't step away from the cheeseburger!?"

"Health insurance shouldn't cover homosexuals who contract AIDS - it's their own damned fault!"

etc.

See what I mean?

Mandatory seat belt laws are wrong. Period.

[havocmom]

21. First, driving is a privilege, not a right or freedom, so there are rules

to protect the greater good. Since medical costs are not just paid by those receiving care for injury, the greater community DOES have an interest in trying to keep injuries as limited as possible.

Also, bodies flying out of vehicles can cause accidents/injuries for others not involved in the original accident. Someone choosing not to buckle up may think only they are affected by that decision. In too many cases, they are very wrong. If you get thrown from your vehicle and into the path of mine, you have created a very dangerous situation. At the very least, you fuck up my mental state if I have to live with the knowledge that you were alive until I ran over you. And you may well cause all sorts of other deaths/injuries by the fact that your flying body may cause other wrecks.

It is NOT just a matter of personal choice. It has an effect on the safety of others on the road who have no control over the laws of physics or whether you personally become a missile. Medical costs are also a consideration of the whole society. We all pay when accidents cause more serious injuries. We pay for long term care for members of society who end up with head injuries and have to be given long term care. We all pay for increased emergency response team calls. We all pay increased insurance rates. We all pay when a family is left without a bread winner.

And we are all less when we lose a friend or loved one.

Buckle up. Driving is not a right, but a privilege and mature people recognize privileges come with responsibilities.

[Shoeempress]

22. There should not be seatbelt laws for adults.

For those who think they save lives, putting governors on cars which prevent you from driving over 30 miles and hour would be more effective in saving lives, so why not just do that? Then we can all be safer.

[johnaries]

23. No - we need more Darwin Award candidates. n/t

[Booster]

24. Yes. Simply because it's the law and it's not a big deal to just

buckle up when you get in. We really can't pick and choose which laws we'll obey and which ones we won't.

[Mojorabbit]

25. I don't wear one

I was in an accident years ago and if I had been wearing one and not thrown free I'd be dead.
I have terrible claustrophobia and feel as if I am smothering when wearing one.

[Stinky The Clown]

26. An unqualifed NO for adults. An unqualified YES for children

I don't even know where these laws came from, but they smack of the 'Mommy' label we Dems get saddled with. Here in Maryland, thelaw is such that you cannot be pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt, but if you're pulled over for something else, and you're found not to be wearing the belt, you can also be charged with that. The fine is $25. I'm okay with this, I guess ......

But I DO think they should be mandatory for kids, along with child safety seats of an age-appropriate nature. And failure here should be a heavy fine. And if a cop sees a car with a kid obviously not restrained, he should be allowed to stop and ticket.

Adults can take care of themselves. Kids, on the other hand, depend on us to do right by them.