seat belt law question?

Question

im against seat belts. reason is i was in a really really bad accident and if i had on my seat belt i would have died and it states it in the police report. so none the less i dont wear my seat belt and will never wear one. i got pulled over the other day for not having it on and i didnt get a ticket for it just got a ticket for no proof of insurance cuz the new one wasnt in the car yet (stupid on my part i know) but why do they have seat belt laws yes it can save lives but there are phones people doing makeup, changing just alot of dumb things that can cause an accident yet there are no laws against these. yes seat belt law brings in cash but shouldnt it be the person's choice cuz it doesnt affect anyone else or if your not wearing one it doesnt cuz an accident. i just really really hate the seat belt law cuz once you get one they keep stoping you for it and they can stop me 100 times and i still wont have it on, i'd rather pay the fine than my life so who can i write im in michigan

who can i write regarding seat belt laws in michigan? whos the best to write. should i just write granhlom over and over? is there a state that doesnt have it what is a good web site to research seat belt law affects.

to WHO ELSE thanks for your opinion. i dont have kids but when i have my neices(3yrs old) i buckle em up safe and sound. when i have my nephews 8 and 10 they buckle them selves up. i get they can be thrown out of the car so i buckle them up. and if i had my own kids i would buckle them up, but i am 24 and can make that choice for myself. i hope you calm down and stop being so rude to random people. i know what can happen if you dont have one on and if you do and dont think i dont think about that ever time i see a car. if you could see the other side of the issue you might think a little more of the issue. every time i get in a car and the person im with says buckle up i think about it for a second and try to put it on but i start to shake and tense up and feel like im going to pass out so there for i dont wear it. by all means you can wear one im just not going to and if the government wants to take my license away cuz of no seat belt fine.

to mark. it says most likly cuz the seat belt was ripped out of my car. and i have been in other accidents- not my fault either they were old old people that couldnt see. and yes i hit my head. but i still dont get what makes the government the right to force me to wear the belt when it doesnt harm anyone but myself if i dont or do. unless i get thrown out of my vechile and land on someone or land on another car which is rare. and i have done research i was asking on here to see if there was anything i didnt do

Answer 1

I was going to find some numbers to show you why the laws are there, and how your chance of changing them is pretty slim. But, I there were so many I didn't feel like typing them all. We had training on this at work a couple months ago. I don't remember the numbers but since my state adopted the seat belt law there were almost 100 less traffic deaths per year. Once seat belt became a primary offense the number is now in the hundreds. At the same time the number of cars on the road and the number of accidents increased. I've known a couple people that were probably saved by not wearing their seat belts when they were in an accident, and both of them were still very strongly for seat belt and seat belt laws. I also know a lot of people that have been in accidents, including myself, that may not have died but would have had a lot more serious injuries had they not been wearing their seat belts. The people that choose not to wear their seat belts are not just effecting themselves if they die in an auto accident. The insurance companies pay out a lot more money, making my and everyone Else's premiums go up. The county has to pay the coroner to go to the scene, plus all the other extra people involved in a fatality. Someone has to go tell your parents, wife, husband, etc. that you are dead. Your family has to go through the lose. Plus if you have life insurance, a lot of companies will not pay if you were killed in an auto accident and were not wearing your seat belt. Whether or not it would have saved your life. I knew a guy that was behead by a logging truck and his wife did not get any life insurance money because he wasn't wearing his seat belt, even though it wouldn't have mattered.

Answer 2

You were in one accident. You were told that if you had been wearing your seat belt during that accident that you probably would have died (they had to have said "probably" because unless it happens, they don't know for certain). Based upon this and this only, you feel that wearing seat belts is unsafe. You haven't bothered to do any studying on the research and studies involving the safety of wearing seat belts, and you ignore the fact that seat belts aren't optional equipment because they come standard in all motor vehicles, so there must be good reason.

Hopefully you won't get into an accident that involves you being throw head first through the windshield because you refused to wear a seat belt. Thanks for placing yourself and others at risk because you ignorantly think you know better.

Additional: The government has the right for the same reason they have the right to monitor and limit drinking while driving, or people smoking in the presence of others. Because the safety of others are at risk. It isn't just you that is involved when an accident occurs, and what happens to you in that accident can affect others. If you are driving others around and you get into an accident, then if you're not held into place by that seat belt you could lose more control of the car, or get tossed so that you hurt someone else, or your body could cause an obstruction preventing rescue of those others, etc. It's funny how you use what you consider the rarity of these things happening to justify you not wearing a seat belt, but you refuse to acknowledge the rarity of you dying because you wear a seat belt isn't a valid reason not to wear one.

If you refuse to obey a law, then you have no right engaging in an activity that involves that law.

BTW You aren't being forced to wear one. You're just being ticketed if you don't.

Answer 3

Well, I believe there is some justification for forcing the vehicle operator to be wearing a seat belt. It at least keeps you in front of the wheel during an accident. There have been numerous cases where a driver was hit by one car and being restrained by the seat belt was able somewhat control the car and avoid hitting other cars, pedestrians, etc.

As for whether or not you are safer with it on or off I can't say. I keep mine on. But I have the same problem with the State making decisions for me that don't really effect anyone else.

Answer 4

You are literally one in tens of thousands. It really is that rare that NOT wearing a seat belt contributes to an accident victim surviving. If you are ever in another bad wreck, the odds are astronomical that this would be the case again....but your mind is made up, so that's that. As far as the other activities you mention, there are laws against those things. They fall under something defined as "inattentive driving", and can even be classified as "reckless driving", depending on the situation. Both of these infractions carry much stiffer penalties than any seat belt laws. Just thought you might want to know this stuff.

Answer 5

This is a fascinating area of debate. Statistically, seatbelts save far more lives than they cost, but you're right--occasionally, a seatbelt can be the problem instead of the solution. So who should make that call? I like to think that children should have to wear restraints in cars (b/c they aren't old enough to make that call), but adults should be allowed to risk their lives if they so wish. But some would argue that if you end up paralyzed for life, the government may end up paying for your medical bills and upkeep, and so the government has some say in that. Personally, my sister died in part because she wasn't wearing a seatbelt (and mostly because some loser was driving drunk and hit her), so I always wear my seatbelt and favor harsh drunk driving laws.

As for how to protest the law? Go to a search engine and do a search on "find my representative" or "find my senator" and you should find some sites that will help give you addresses where you can write.

Answer 6

To the contrary to what most people said by answering your question, it is a proven fact that by wearing a seat belt you have a 50/50 chance: a 50% chance it'll save your life, and a 50% chance that it'll take your life!!!

I do not wear a seat belt, I never have, and I never will.

Many years ago, while I was still living in my native country, I was 17 years old then, one beautiful, warm Sunday afternoon, several friends and I decided to go the our much beloved beach, for an afternoon of fun, which it's located about a hour drive away. We went in three vehicles, I was a passenger in the one in the very back. A lot of other people must had our same idea, as there was heavy traffic. We were almost there when two vehicles, ten cars in front of us, wrecked with one another, causing the biggest pile up I ever seen. Several people died, others were injured pretty bad, to include myself, body parts could be found in a mile stretch. My two best friends ever were in the car in front of us, they wore seat belts. The car was wrecked so bad, the driver and three passengers' seat belts were stuck. Myself along with several others try to get them out to no avail. My skull was cracked open, and I had a broken knee also, but I did all I could to get them out. They never made it out. The car caught fire and blew up. I watched my best friends burn to death, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it. I can still smell their burning flesh.

I don't wear seat belts, I never will. And, Yes, I now have a 17 years old son, who has always wore a restrain, (appropriate to the age) since he was newborn. I know it's the "right" thing to do, but I cannot bring myself to wear one, and I pray God to always protect my son, to keep him from the 50% chance of losing his life because he's wearing one.

I feel that the use of a seat belt should be optional, and not mandatory. I risk/save my own life by wearing/not wearing one, no one else's, and should have the right to choose.

Answer 7

you're an idiot. my stepfather's first wife died in a car accident because she was asleep in the back seat. everyone else was saved because they had it on. it was a horrible tragedy, and it affected many lives. so you're saying that you won't buckle your kids in because of this? are you one of the dumba*ses that allow their kids to jump all over the back seat? just because you are still alive doesn't make it a reason to try to change a law. seat belts save more lives than not. when i had my car accident, our seat belts saved our lives. i would have been thrown from the car if i hadn't been wearing one, as well as my best friend. get as many tickets as you can, then just wait until your license is suspended. then your butt will finally stop driving for a while.

Answer 8

You had one accident where they say you faired off better by not wearing a seatbelt, and I've heard others say that. However, there's no real proof of that, the can't say for a fact what your chances would have been had you been wearing one, although accident after accident where a person is killed by ejected from a car or going through the windshield gives proof that had they'd been wearing a seatbelt would have benefited them.

Answer 9

I have always been against mandatory seat belt laws. This is a law that truly infringes on our rights.
First if you don't wear a seat belt who does it hurt...only you...it does not have the ability to hurt others. Other laws such as speeding and DUI does put others in danger and I can understand these laws.
OK I agree it does save lives sometimes and there are other cases like yours, it could have caused your death.
I think we should have the right to choose for ourselves in cases where it can cause no harm to others.
I do believe in child safety seats that is a different issue.

Answer 10

I think that seatbelts have saved lives more often than not.
You had ONE accident. I understand that perhaps the trauma gives you nightmares and now you never want to wear a seatbelt again. That's fine. But why would you want to change a law that has statiscally proven that seatbelts DO save lives?
Don't you think that changing the law for YOUR ONE experience is somewhat selfish?
Just grin (you survived!) and bear it (because you beat the odds--- but that's what they were -- ODDS).