Are you for or against the Seatbelt Law? I don't understand why adults should be required to buckle up?

Question

I'm sure you can find stats to suggest more people are helped than hurt by buckling up, but it seems to me personal liberty ought to trump societal concerns here. Maybe not buckling means more injuries meaning more taxpayer money spent on emergency services and more insurance money to be spendt on medical care, etc., but that is like grasping at straws....contact sports do the same thing, are we going to criminilize that now too, or what about eating unhealthy foods, doesn't that drive up healthcare costs for society, so why not restrict that somehow....the answer is personal liberty, which ought to reign supreme in America...and this idea that those not restrained could fly through the windshield and cause further accidents is surely less likely than a jammed seatbelt actually trapping an accident victim from escaping from a burning vehicle....Furthermore, let's be honest... the real reason states have this law is because the federal gov't will pull highway funding if they don't

Answer 1

It is stupid to not wear them but we don't need nanny laws.

Answer 2

Good point. I know someone who broke her back once and her doctor said that she shouldn't wear lap-only belts because she could be hurt worse wearing one in a crash than if she weren't. I'm not sure if that means only her or if those belts would cause worse injury to anyone but I've heard lap-only belts are dangerous. I think we should all buckle up but I understand where you're coming from. I don't know what the odds are of seat belts being jammed so I can't really say much. Maybe researchers should figure out how to make them more reliable, or people could just keep a knife assessible in the car.

Answer 3

Because, when the knuckleheads refuse to buckle up and get into an accident, it costs the taxpayers money when they are injured.

You are right....there should be no need for a law telling you to use your seatbelt. Reasonable people should be able to figure that out for themselves.

Unfortunately, too many whacko's are behind the wheel on our highways - and they think the rules don't apply to them...they drive recklessly and negligently and present a danger to themselves and others. THAT's who the law is aimed at. The responsible people already KNOW that safety comes first.

Answer 4

Actually, I was a volunteer EMT for 6 years and I can assure you that in a high speed collision you WILL go flying out the windshield. Then, if it's high traffic, other people DO get in additional wrecks trying not to kill you. IF you live, then people like me get to wander around in the area you bounced through looking for whatever body parts ripped off of you on the way.

Also, you need to consider that if you aren't wearing one in an accident, not only are the injuries worse, but this puts more work and stress on police and rescue workers, delays traffic, and increases the rate of fatalities.

Then on top of that you have all the people who wouldn't wear them, but would then turn around and sue the car manufacturer, the state, the police and anyone else they could think of for not MAKING them wear it, and thus reducing their injuries. That's how a lot of intrusive laws get passed. Some shmuck sues someone (or a lot of someones) for not protecting them from their own idiocy, or for the death of a family member after their idiocy. ("Johnny would have lived if he had used his seat belt instead of sitting on it! It CAN'T be my johnny's fault! It's those $#@$ Car makers! SUE! SUE!" Kinda thing.)

Answer 5

I am for the law. It saves lives.

One interesting comment. I was visiting friends in another jurisdiction [Québec], and we were driving to a park to listen to a band concert, with my friend and his girlfriend in the front seat, and my wife and I in the back seat. Before we started the drive, my friend said that I must buckle my seat belt. He said the cops there definitely will write a ticket for an unbelted passenger in the back seat. Of course, we all bucked up.

I think there is a real interest on the part of the American and Canadian governments to enforce the seat belt law and reduce unnecessary traffic deaths.

Answer 6

I have to disagree.

So many studies have been done and virtually all of them conclude that seat belts save lives. It's not just flying through the windshield, it's minimizing injury in minor accidents.

It is a matter of public safety. The same argument could be used about seat belts in planes or using child seats in cars.

Answer 7

In Florida and Texas, you have to wear a seat belt in the front seat, but you do not have to wear a motorcycle helment.

It's not because the government is making you be safe against your will. It's to keep other people safe. If you get hit, make a hard turn, enter a skid, or anything else, you can be thrown out of your seat and lose control of your vehicle.

Answer 8

I have a friend who's wife was on her way home from picking up one of their children at school. They had 3 kids, the other 2 too young for school. On the way home, with all of them buckled in properly, she was hit by another car and hers caught on fire. She tried to get through the flames to the 2 in the back seat but finally was restrained by highway patrol and they burned in front of her. My eldest son is a highway trooper and always buckles up...but he knows how I feel about those things and never insists I buckle up even when riding with him. I am a firm believer that no law should be passed to protect us from ourselves. It should be my right to decide whether I want to take a chance on living through a wreck with or without a seat belt.

Answer 9

Let's be honest. The loss of life, the loss of industry, the loss of income, the increase in medical costs incurred by the state for people injured without insurance or underinsurance...and many other factors...give the state a legitimate interest in this. When you speak of liberty, you should probably concentrate on things much more important than seat belt laws. The very essence of your liberty is being eroded in much more important ways.

Answer 10

I hated wearing my seat belt when New Jersey got the law like 20 years ago. Now I will not ride in a car without one.

Answer 11

I agree with you in most of the ideas that you bring up. I think that for the most part it should be a persons choice but as a parent I want to see myself and my child safe in the car. Like I said, it is a choice that I make, not what society tells me.