Seatbelt law is a piece of s***!?

Question

Ok, who else thinks this seatbelt law is the most stupidest, controlling communist law that the stupid US has come up with. Seriously, they have nothing better to do than waste money on a pathetic law which also kills. I heard about a girl who had the seatbelt on, her freakin' head got severed and when people can't get out of a car because their stupid seatbelt which is supposed to save their lives, has trapped them. Until you make smoking and drinking illegal, then I'll wear that piece of crap! How funny that smoking, which is a poison, is legal to 18 year olds. Me wearing or not wearing a seat belt, does NOT hurt others. Who's with me? :)

To those idiots, who called me a crackhead, I DO NOT smoke or drink, but my example was, how can it be possible in this world where we should have common sense, that a poison is legal and we know it kills, and kills those around us, but smoking is still legal and I don't care what a law says, it should be a choice, not forced upon us. Law or no law, I still WON'T wear it and those who believe in this law are mindless idiots who trust everything the government says. We have the most laws and yet we are the most out of control.

Answer 1

I am surprised at the number of answers here but most of them address whether it is advisable to wear a seat belt or not. No matter how good an idea is, it is a different questino whether or not it is a good idea to make it mandatory. I, personally, believe that we should not pass laws to protect people from themselves. If you choose not to wear a seatbelt, that should be your choice. I personally always wear a seatbelt and I have to admit that I do it because it became law. Despite that, I still do not think that seat belts should be mandatory. We blindly accept too many intrusions into our personal liberty in the name of paternalism. The government is not our parent. We are not idiots who cannot make our own rational, informed decisions. When we do make wrong decisions, we have to pay the price for doing so.

A major problem involved in micro-legislating behavior is that people start believing that something is OK just because it is not illegal. It takes away from personal responsibility. People need to know that they have to make choices and that those choices have consequences. I would have no problem with a program designed to encourage individuals to wear seat belts by showing films of traffic injuries in school etc. However, I do not think it should be required to wear one.

Answer 2

I got into a pretty heated debate about htis once before. and while i agree in principal, there are people you effect if you are injured due to not wearing a seatbelt. Besides your family, if you are crippled the state will have to take care of you, which costs the tax payers money. Though i do believe is should ultimately be the choice of the driver. THough as someone whos life was saved by a seatbelt, i'll continue to wear mine.

As for the people who have been killed by seatbelts, thats ussualy the exception, not the rule.

Answer 3

Yeah its kind of a pain but the fact is that it is effective at saving lives. I never used to wear mine and now I do so this law was probably intended for people like me.

As far as making smoking, drinking illegal....The only real argument against it is that it just won't ever work. Prohibition didn't work - it actually made this country very violent and encouraged crime.

I also feel we should legalize all drugs. Only allow people to utilize them while in a clinic but still they would be free. It would have to work better then forcing a bunch of addicts to commit crime in order to get their fix. Sometimes we only guarantee more and worse crime by making something illegal but seatbelt laws don't fit into that category.

Answer 4

I always wear mine. The girl most likely would have been decapitated anyway. The statistics support that wearing seatbelts save lives. Fewer people actually die from being trapped by their seat belt. If you're that worried about it, carry a sturdy pair of scissors in your car.

I had a friend who felt the same way you do. She got in a car accident and because she wasn't wearing her seatbelt, her hand went through the windshield and she lost the use of her left hand. Later she was in another accident, she hit her head on the windshield. Instead of going to a dr, she went to work where she had a minor stroke and lost all of her memory including severe short term memory loss.

So go ahead, don't wear your seatbelt. Pay your fines. If you get severely injured, your insurance company will most likely not pay for your injuries.

Answer 5

I agree. I used to wear my seatbelt regularly, but now, every time I start to put it on, I'm reminded that this is a freedom I no longer have. It's quite disappointing, and I have to admit, the rebel in me wins out more often than not. I find myself wearing my seatbelt much less since the laws were passed.

So, the authoritarians aren't winning yet.

I guess my biggest argument is that, yes, we know that seatbelts OFTEN save lives, but many of us also know someone who was saved by NOT wearing a seatbelt. As long as there is some randomness here, shouldn't it be the individual's choice? I'm all for letting them (us) pay their own medical bills if they weren't wearing a seatbelt, but let us make our own choices, ok? Let me be reckless with my own life. Let me make my own good or bad choices. This is still a free society, and seat belt laws are far, far more objectionable to people who value freedom than they are helpful to those who don't. Remember, no one is advocating that we outlaw seatbelts! We're just asking for freedom of choice. Give me that, and I promise I'll wear my seatbelt again.

Answer 6

People who don't wear seatbelts are great for my job security, but bad for the economy.
It's the law of mechanics and physics - people who don't wear seatbelts either smuck their empty pumpkin heads in the windshield or are ejected and smuck their empty pumpklin heads on the road - then they end up being drooling turnips for years and years all at the state expense.
I think it should be a choice - like smoking and drinking - but I think all three should have to carry Long Term Care Insurance and pay higher premiums on all other insurances because they engage in high risk behavior.

Answer 7

Because your airbags came before seatbelts in the States (yes?) your car design is still flawed. Seatbelts as a part of a well designed safety package with airbags are much better than not wearing a seatbelt. It has been statistically proven in my country. The technology of seatbelts in Australian and Japanese and European cars is quite advanced (pretensioners, fired retraction etc). I couldn't imagine a well designed car and correctly firtted lap-sash seatbelt severing a head.

Answer 8

Wow, such anger at people who don't agree with you and what a ploy to get affirmation (your "who's with me?" is a scream for self-justification). That, and blaming the poor girl who had her head severed, well, that's just sick of you. ANYWAY, despite the fact that you've become a raging maniac in your e-mails to me about something else entirely, I do agree that mandating seat belts is a bit extreme and that we should all be responsible for our own safety. The same would apply to smoking and drinking - we all know the risks. But hey, hope you don't get into an accident and get your head smashed. I've seen plenty of head-trauma people who didn't buckle up or who didn't wear a helmet on their motorbikes, and it's a shame that they can't do much else than drool and crap over themselves anymore.

This is what "Anonymous" wrote me via e-mail, to be seen as an example of her mentality:

Message: You know it's funny to me because YOU keep writing back too you fat ugly whore. You want to attack me personally now. go ahead and criticize something that I would gladly wish on you so you can feel it too. I know who I am. I don't need the Internet to make me feel better, because if you were here in person I'd beat the **** out of your ugly flat face

Answer 9

Could you possibly be someone who got a ticket for not wearing a seat belt? Have you ever seen a Nascar race? Do you think any driver would want to go out on the track without having their belts on? If you don't want to wear your belts that is fine with me, but don't expect too many people to have sympathy for you when you get into a wreck and become a veg. because you were too stupid to have your belt on. Seat belts may not save your life but, your odds are a lot better to walk away from a wreck with them than without them.

Answer 10

Okay, I will refrain from calling you a complete moron because I'm not that kind of person.

The seatbelt law is a law of numbers. The number of people saved by them outweighs the number of people harmed by them. While seatbelts will sometimes cause internal injuries or entrapment, it is better to have the internal injuries than being dead from being crushed by the vehicle after you are thrown from it.

Personally, I work with law enforcement and EMS on a daily basis. I can't even begin to tell you the number of people that walk away from rollover accidents where their vehicles are all but crushed - because they were wearing seat belts!!

And, yes it does hurt others if you do not wear your belt. You have family since you could not have hatched from a rock. They would be greatly harmed by your stupidity. Additionally if you carry passengers they could be harmed by you when you become a 200 pound projectile in the vehicle.