Natural selection. Hard to feel too bad for people that die in car wrecks who didn't care enough about protecting themselves to put a seatbelt on.

 

I want that car

 

I just heard they want to make a law here saying if you don't wear your seatbelt you are responsible for the costs if you need medical attention.

IMO, it's a personal choice, we don't stop people form doing a variety of other dangerous activities, and if we did, then I would have a real problem with that.

I wear mine every time, I feel weird if I've made it past my driveway with out it, but.... When I was young, my mom was in a car accident, she got t-boned and the drivers side door was crushed up to the center of the car. She not wearing a seatbelt, as it wasn't the norm back then, coupled with a severe case of clausterphobia saved her life. If she had been wearing it, she wouldn't have been thrown to the other side of the car and crushed instead.

So, 99.9999% of the time, is it a good idea? absolutely, but you will never convince my mom of that, she's alive because she didn't wear one. Is she a moron? no, she's one of the smartest people I know.

 

I can't wait to hear the logic behind this one.

 

Look at the statistics. In fully 1/3 of the fatalities, seatbelt use was not a factor.

Don't come out preaching the benefits of seatbelt use when it's still close to only a 50/50 chance that it will benefit the wearer. Again, I fully support seatbelt use. In fact, I swapped my OEM seat and 3pt back into the car - it was there for a 10 min drive and I couldn't stand not having the security of the 6pt so the Recaro went right back in. And I strap into my harness every time I get in the S (except for driving the 100' through the parking lot between my house and the grocery store)

But that's a different issue. My issue with being forced to wear a seatbelt has nothing to do with whether it's more or less safe or the statistics surrounding it's use (even if the data is skewed to leave the impression that 99.99999% of the time it's safer - which just isn't supported at all). It has to do with a far larger political issue: the slow errosion of my ability to make my own decisions as to my own personal well-being.

The line about someone having to pay for my healthcare is a bit off. I pay taxes the same as you. My taxes go to pay for people with health problems from letting themselves become lethally obese just the same as yours.

One of my best friends when I was in the military is the son of a retired State Trooper. His father had almost as many stories where seatbelt and helmet use were just as dangerous as the alternatives as stories where seatbelts/helmets saved lives. The reality is that seatbelts and helmets do cause deaths. So it should be a personal choice and the information should be openly available to the public to provide the ability to make an informed decision.

As for me, I'll always strap into my 6pt and I'll always wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. But that should be a personal choice, not one forced upon me by all the families of those who've died in accidents and feel the need to impose their pain/anguish induced beliefs on me.

 

I ALWAYS wear one while driving, and most of the times riding as a passenger (always when shotgun.) But I will admit, on long trips in the back of a minivan or SUV, I don't bother. Stupid? Maybe. I dunno.


"I suggest you stop being such a faggot. You're in the back seat."

 

i think your damned if you do damned if you don't. b/c of certain factors in some accidents some people would have died if they weren't wearing and the same is true for those that were wearing one. it goes both ways.

i always wear my seatbelt in the car but sometimes i don't catch myself at first since i'm so used to not wearing one when driving cars around the dealership lot all day

 

[QUOTE=Neutered Sputniks,Apr 10 2008, 11:27 AM] Look at the statistics.

 

That part always makes me laugh out loud.

 

I'll start wearing mine when the law requires motorcyclists to wear it too.