When will Seat-Belt Laws be declared Unconstitutional?

Question

Let's put on our thinking caps before we spew out stupidity.

In the past 20 years driving fatalities have gone up at the same rate per year..there has been NO CHANGE since seat-belt laws were enacted 5 years ago. NO ONE is saying children shouldn't be required to wear seat-belts...I WOULD never drive a car without one...it's cheap insurance and it's smart and your stupid if you don't. This is NOT what this is about...you should have a RIGHT to choose.

So what's the difference here: In my State the Pin-Heads took in 125 MILLION in FINES in 2006.

If you think that bureaucrats give a damn about YOUR saftey..think again!!
This is 100% about a hidden tax...all in the name of "SAFETY"

When ever the government, Fed, state or local level talk about keeping you safe, your health, your children...WATCH OUT...they are reaching for your wallet?

Now watch government employees jump all over me...

I WILL answer you back...


do you agree?

Union...uhhhh where's your FACTS???

forgot them??????

sensible......what?

BRENT...FINALLY intelligence has spoken!

Good job!

Answer 1

I agree. It's hard for some to see the line between being held accountable by law to protect children, and being an American, tax paying adult that DECIDES to wear one or not. I think there's a big difference. Being in law enforcement, I see first hand what happens when people don't wear a seatbelt, so I feel it's silly not to wear one.. ( I wouldn't want to be scraped up off the highway piece by piece.) But!!! Grown adults should have the choice! We have the choice to be idiots in every other context, why not in a car?

Answer 2

If you really have an issue with seatbelt laws move to the Live Free or Die State, where you don't have to wear a seatbelt between the ages of 18 and 55. Or not have to wear a helmet while driving a motorcycle. But you better pray that I am not on your jury if you sue the guy who hurt you in an accident because you didn't use common sense while wearing a helmet or a seat belt.

p.s. The Live Free or Die State is NH

Answer 3

Well lets look at the facts shall we. Operating a Motor vehicle on a public highway is a privilege granted by the state. The fact that one has to apply for and receive a license to operate said vehicles legally on public highways proves beyond any reasonable doubt that this is a fact. Since we have established that driving said motor vehicle on a public highway is a privilege it's reasonable to assume that the government can make rule governing the operation of these vehicles such as speed laws, vehicle safety laws, child safety seats, seat belts and the dreaded helmet laws.

With all that being said, I don't like these nanny state restrictions however if you want to avoid the fines either follow the rules or don't drive on public highways. Like it or not the laws are constitutional since they in no way violate any constitutionally protected rights.

Answer 4

I have seen seatbelts save lives so you could never convince me that it is a waste of time. But if you don't want to wear one, feel free. It gives EMT's, Paramedics, and coroners something to do.

However, since the state licenses vehicles, they can tell you how to drive them and what to do when you are driving.

By the way have you ever thought of a third variable in your "there has been no change in fatalities" claim. Like maybe the increased use of cell phones while driving, or increased instances of drunken driving on US roads. so on and so forth.

How many times have you been issued a fine for not wearing a seatbelt?

What do you feel about the new laws that are requiring people to drive with a hands free set?

Answer 5

Easy answer:

When a newer, safer, safety device is made. If you look back at the movie Demolition Man with Sly Stalone and Wesley Snipes you will see a scene where Sly's character is driving a car and crashes it into a sign and a fountain. As he wrecks the steering wheel or the dash sprays out a foam that encapsulates Sly and fills the entire compartment preventing him from being bounced around like a pinball inside the car or eating the steering wheel. The only flaw I saw was "What if your mouth is open?"

It was a great idea though. When we get more"out of the box" ideas like that, then seat belts will be only seen in a history museum.

Answer 6

I drive an 84 full size diesel chevy K5 blazer and I wear my seat belt, who will survive in a crash? Me or the guy in the 2006 camry, I'll probably hear his air bags pop under my tires. Seat belts don't kill. Inferior construction does. Cars have gotten smaller and smaller, and have started using more light weight materials and composites. That is the reason for deaths, seath belts save lives. Big old beasts like mine are safe. As for the enviroment....I'll listen to you tree huggers, when you quit going to the movies and watching George Clooney and Angeline Jolie blow up six square miles of forest with 5000 gallons of diesel fuel, to show you how horrible the Diamond mines in Africa are and how one man waged a war to get his son out! Bunch of hipocrites. Yes my man, seat belts save lives, and if you ever want to see it proved go buy a big old chevy and run through a new car parking lot with it at 80 mph and watch the hybrids fly, while you stay securely strapped behind the wheel of your big STEEL wagon.

Answer 7

You have the freedom to not wear the seat belt. You just may be ticketed for your non-compliance. I don't know how many car accidents you have seen, but I bet I have seen more...seat belts save lives. I would like to see the article in the Constitution that states you are free to drive on a public road, un-restricted.

Answer 8

How about we do this...

Make seatbelt use optional for everyone. HOWEVER...if you are in an accident...even if it is not your fault...and you are injured or killed, your insurance company is not responsible for paying your medical bills...you are. The sad thing is that this will not work because someone who suffers a catastrophic injury and has no insurance becomes a burden on taxpayers.

The same goes for motorcyclists wearing a helmet. I live in PA where they fought to repeal the helmet law and won.

I don't want my tax dollars keeping some vegetable alive because they chose to not wear a helmet or seat belt.

And, before you accuse me of working for the government...I don't. I work for a personal injury law firm and see it all the time.

Answer 9

Because many who "choose" not to wear seatbelts also "choose" not to have health insurance. That means you and I have to pay for the repairs to their heads and shoulders when they fly through their windshields. We don't "choose" that; the system exacts it from us. And where are you getting that there's no evidence seatbelts save lives? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard this week.

Just look up Princess Diana's wreck. It has been scientifically proven beyond a shadow of argument that she would have survived that wreck if she had just taken two seconds to buckle her damn seatbelt. Was it laziness or stupidity that prevented her from doing that? Nobody will ever know, because she's dead.

Answer 10

The U.S. Supreme Court has already heard a case involving the ARREST of a woman for not wearing her seatbelt. The stop and the arrest were held to be constitutional by the highest court in the land.

Sorry Charlie.