Seat-Belt Laws....Excuse me but do we need Government to tell us?

Question

First I think that Seat Belts are a GREAT thing, I would never drive a car (Which is My RIGHT...not a priveldge as the bureaucrats love to tell us) without one. ALL children should be required to wear a seat-belt.

Here's the Problem: This is nothing but a protect-me-from-myself law that raises millions of dollars each year...in my State alone they STOLE from Americans 53.2 MILLION in fines. LISTEN or you'll miss this: Insurance rates continued to climb at 3.2% as they have done for the past 45 years...ZERO Change...AUTO wrecks are down in my State 1.4%, fatalities as up 1.2% as they they do EVERY YEAR even before they enacted Seat-Belt laws........NOTHING HAS CHANGED...can you hear me..NOTHING>>>....EXCEPT one thing..52 MILLION DOLLARS.............52 MILLION DOLLARS.....52 MILLION they took in in FINES.........SEAT BELT LAWS DON'T WORK...GUESS who making the BIG MONEY????


Folks wear your belt it's common sense...if you need BIG-BROTHER to prtect you...Don't Drive!

your views

If anyone has a question...I'll answer you right back...SPEAK UP!

Jinithy.........well said, Someone who doesn't have his head up some government @@s...good for you!

My my state the Police sit on bridges with binoculars lookig for people NOT wearing belts then slapping them for $110...This is nothing but a CASH-COW..all in the name of saftey of course!! BS...they started this little law saying it would only be a 2nd offense

stno...I value life as well...BUT don't take away a person's choice...just think it through a little more

CopGirl....as usual you didn't listen...NOTHING in 5 years with set-belt laws...NOTHING, the stats are the SAME! The only thing that changes is your boss's collecting 52 MILLION from us! JUST think a little more with your brain and less with your emotions

Sarge...thank for agreeing with common sense. 2nd...driving as a RIGHT...I never said to allow disabled person to drive...apples & oranges here...of course you must be 16..NO ONE disagree's with that..THAT's not the POINT! Able bodies person's that PASS a TEST, written & driving should have the RIGHT not the Privilege granted to us from the KINGS of AMERICA (GOVERNMENT)...it is THEIR PRIVILEGE to be our prublic SERVANTS NOT their right...it's ALL in the WORDING..We in America have been so conditioned to believe this Garbage...rights granted us to big brother.... B.S. TO drive on OUR streets that WE bought a PAID for...WE the people who work in the Private Sector...that pay's 100% of ALL the BILLS...we don't need those riding in the wagon telling us what to DO!

Answer 1

I'm with you on two things: (1) All children should wear a seat belt as a safety measure, and (2) It's never a good idea for government to play big brother and tell adults what they need to do, so there shouldn't be a mandatory seat belt law. There should be a "you assume the risk" law that says you can't sue anyone if you get in an accident and you weren't wearing your seat belt, and I'd also like to see a law that says insurance companies don't have to pay for your injuries if you don't wear a seat belt, but forcing people to wear seat belts and issuing fines for not doing so is, as you said, just a way for the state to make more money.

Here's where I disagree with you: Driving a car is NOT a right. Do they let blind people drive? Nope. How about deaf people? Uh-uh. What about people with physical disabilities and mental disorders? No again, and people diagnosed with certain mental disorders can be forced to hand their licenses over. And what about someone like child rapper Bow-Wow, who bought a Jaguar X-Type when he was 12 years old? Too bad they wouldn't let him drive it until he turned 16 and had parental consent. You cannot assert something as a right unless it applies unilaterally to everyone, and operating a motor vehicle doesn't. That's why you must have a LICENSE to operate a motor vehicle. And that's how the states ding you -- if you read the fine print on an application for an operator's license, one of the things you agree to is abiding by all motor vehicle laws. So, in a sense, you're waiving a whole bunch of civil liberties by getting a drivers license. Kind of sucks, doesn't it?

Answer 2

I have never in my life driven a car without wearing a seat belt (well, maybe a few feet in my driveway). A seat belt has saved my life...I'm an amateur race driver, and during one race another driver pushed me head-on into a wall at 70 mph.

Having said all that, I think seat belt laws are terrible. I don't mind laws that required children to be secured, but adults should be able to manage their own affairs, even if they do so very poorly.

And I agree with you about driving being a right. Are driver's licenses passed out freely to every qualified person who passes the test? Then they are a right, not a privilege. If a blind person could pass the test, would they get a license? I'd think that they should. But I'm not holding my breath waiting for one of them to pass.

Answer 3

*LOL* Actually folks GAVE your state 52 million dollars because they failed to follow the law. This law was probably enacted by a bunch of Democrats who wanted more money in state coffers.

If stupid people don't wear their seat belts it increases the possibility if they are in an accident they will be killed. Maybe they don't have any offspring yet and their genes will have been removed from the pool before they can be passed on.

Answer 4

I have to say that I agree with you. I think it's important that people wear seat belts and I think it should be a law that anyone under the age of 18 should be required to wear a seat belt. But as an adult, if you want to be a moron and not wear one and go flying through your windshield- more power to you.
But I also think that if you get into an accident and you're not wearing your seat belt- your insurance shouldn't pay for anything. The military does that- if you don't wear a helmet on a motorcycle or if you're not wearing your seat belt, you are SOL.
BTW, in some states, it is not simply an auxillary charge: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/outreach/state_laws-belts04/safeylaws-states.htm

Answer 5

I understand why the government would want its drivers to use seat belts, and for persons under the age of 18 I even agree, but in America adults have the right to be stupid, and God knows they freely exercise that right all the time!

But if you get hurt in an accident and you weren’t using a seat belt, SOL, I don’t want my auto insurance rates/ health insurance rates to go up, no money for you jack!

Answer 6

The biggest problem I have with the enactment of seatbelt laws is that they started the slippery slope to all other kinds of idiotic, goody-goody safety laws.

First, it was seatbelts for kids. Then, seatbelts for front seat passengers. Then, seatbelts for everyone. Then, helmets for motorcyclists under 18. Then, helmets for all motorcyclists. Then, helmets for electric scooter riders under 18. Then, helmets for all electric scooter riders. Then, helmets for bicyclists under 18. Then, the ultimate in state-sponsored nannyism, helmets for rollerbladers and skateboarders under 18. (Yes, these are all law here on the left coast - California - and eventually coming to a state near you.)

The huge boulder of stupid safety laws is now rolling downhill with unstoppable momentum, and it all started with seatbelt laws.

Answer 7

The govt makes us wear seatbelts and helmets for everything. I am with ya that they need to butt out of my life. However, what about all the people who have no health insurance? If they don't wear a seatbelt/helmet and get in a wreck, who ends up paying their hospital bills? Everybody else. Maybe they should meake it so if you have insurance you don't have to wear a seatbelt or helmet. If you don't have insurance, strap 'em on.

Answer 8

So long as people think it's "cool" to ride without a seat belt, then yes we need the government telling us. I've never seen someone pulled over just for no seat belt, it's an auxiliary charge. You'd think everyone would wear one, after all it's not just about your driving, but more often everyone else's.

Answer 9

I am torn one this one, because I see both sides. So all I am going to say is that in all states it is still your choice to wear a seatbelt or not.

If you chose to wear it great. If you chose not to wear it great, but if you chose not to then you also are choosing to pay the fine for violating the law. Choice is still yours.

Answer 10

I think the law should apply to children only, if an adult wants to be a jackass, should the government really be involved? The kids though, they can't really make that decision on their own.