Wearing your seatbelt

[jonasaberg]

Personally I am 100% for seatbelts.
Here in Finland, during the winter months, the roads can get very slippery and conditions very bad. If one wheel happen to touch on a patch of ice and the other on dry asphalt the car could spin out of control. You also have to worry about moose jumping up on the road. So it's not just about crazy drivers causing accidents.

Whenever I have passengers in teh backseat I tell them to wear their seat belt. Not for their own protection but for mine. If something does happen and the passenger behind me isn't wearing a seatbelt, they will come crashing into my back with full force.

[Newc]

I get tired of hearing how people want to "rebel" by not wearing a seatbelt or a proper helmet on their motorcycles. They whine about not feeling "cool" or offer some weak excuse about feeling confined. And....??? I should care if your coolness is compromised?
You'll look real cool and free lying under a sheet waiting for the hearse to scrape your carcass off the road, pal.

One thing I did notice yesterday as I was driving through a School Zone: the lights were lit, which means 20MPH through the zone. 30 vehicles going the exact same speed and there was no sign of trouble. No passing, no lane jumping, nothing that would normally cause an accident.

Why is it so hard for everyone to maintain the same speed everywhere else? If everyone's doing 70 down the highway - not some doing 75 and some doing 65 - there's no passing, there's no lane jumping, and there's no risk, aside from a blowout.

[wilkinsi]

$101? what's the extra $1 for? bullshit tax? it's actually no different in the UK, only more expensive - standard fine is £60/$120 just for parking or speeding. The latter also adds 3 points to your licence. People who use mobiles without a handsfree kit are just asking for it, but I never see anyone getting stopped for it. Driving without a seatbelt carries a £40 fine (last time I checked). On the other hand, I also encounter assholes who drive 10mph in a 30mph zone. Those people should be fined too.

[Tashtego]

I think I'm just going to pretend I'm a Mexican illegal from now on. No license, no insurance, no taxes, no responsibilities, no problem. It used to be true that in MA seatbelt enforcement was secondary but not anymore. Not that it ever really mattered; 'law' is really more of a 'suggestion' or platonic ideal that is impossible to achieve by mere flesh and blood. I remember contesting a bogus ticket once in my long hair days. The magistrate didn't even pretend to care about the merits of the arguments, "Dukakis needs the money!" was the finding. Law is for suckers and the government itself is best exemplar of this principle. On the other hand, I pretty much always wear a seatbelt, as I will right now on my way to my Mexican-Spanish lesson. Adios.

[~K~]

To the best of my knowledge the massachusetts primary law got defeated.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/05/23/house_in_dramatic_reversal_votes_against_primary_seat_belt_bill/

[S-man]

..well I hear ya..and see yer point.

Unfortunately, those dumb fucking assholes are following orders and detailed to checkpoints by the higher-ups , DUMBER assholes..like mayors..

Funny thing is..whenever our Mayor ordered anyhthing..I made it a point to drag my feet and not do shit..but the "real" crime stuff..

Whenever they bitch at me for stats..I always showed them proof of that "real" crime stuff...I know how to CYA better than anyone...fuggums!

Cover

Your

Ass..= CYA

Well I could have worded that differently. In the end, someone is a dumb fucking asshole. Wether it's the higher ups or the guy on the street.

Though I do believe it is the higher ups, mostly.

[Tashtego]

To the best of my knowledge the massachusetts primary law got defeated.


http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...eat_belt_bill/

Aie caramba! you are right. I remember it being passed but missed the subsequent reversal.

[horns666]

wow, I'm a strickler for driving safely, and insist on wearing a belt ..it seems I'm in the minority, whenever I'm in traffic..people drive fucked up!

They passed the law in Ohio..and they are enforcing it.

I never gace a seat belt ticket..I always just advised them to put it on..like they listen

I DID give tickets for child seats tho..whenever your out and about..try to observe how many toddlers are not secured..they're jumping, and hoppping back and forth over the car seats..looking out the back window, making faces at ya...yeesh!

Yeah, I make faces back!

[cdwillis]

It is ridiculous to me. If you want to wear a seatbelt that is fine, but you shouldn't be made to wear one. Personally, I've had two seatbelt tickets in about six years of driving. I've only wore one the past two days to avoid the fucking pigs on the way to work.

The law is not for your safety, it is simply to make money. If they really gave a shit about your there are many other laws they could concentrate on other than the bullshit seatbelt. As it as been said, it is only an excuse to search your car and if you have nothing then to ticket you (if not both).

[SlasZ]

I don't see why people would not wear a seatbelt... It has saved many lives and might save yours too. It's not that it's annoying or anything. When i don't wear a belt i feel unsafe, even when i'm going 5 km/h as if i'm going on a rollercoaster without wearing the safety belts.
Some people just don't wear it because its the law (being rebellious i suppose?) ... how stupid can you be

[fett]

I'm all for "Checkpoints" looking for drunk drivers. My point was that just about everyone that will wear a seatbelt does. I do. To sum it up, I just thought that our cops could be doing something better than looking for 5 in 100 drivers.

[Cleveland Metal]

Like I said, it isnt that they're really looking for seatbelts, although it's a good ticket profit. It mainly gives them the publicly announced reason to pull people over at will to see what ELSE is going on in the car.

Otherwise they'd be getting hit for profiling or racism or sme other BS.

[VitaminG]

I DID give tickets for child seats tho..whenever your out and about..try to observe how many toddlers are not secured..they're jumping, and hoppping back and forth over the car seats..looking out the back window, making faces at ya...yeesh!

it's crazy, isn't it? And the driver is less attentive too, because they're distracted by the rugrat climbing on the rear parcel shelf, jumping up and down on the sit or grabbing the driver around the neck.

I don't see why people would not wear a seatbelt... It has saved many lives and might save yours too. It's not that it's annoying or anything. When i don't wear a belt i feel unsafe, even when i'm going 5 km/h as if i'm going on a rollercoaster without wearing the safety belts.
Some people just don't wear it because its the law (being rebellious i suppose?) ... how stupid can you be

And that's another thing! These safety standards (or laws) that dictate that rollercoasters must have harnesses, that wiring in houses be up to spec so that your home doesn't burst into flame when you throw a light switch, that drivers must have licenses, that dog fights are illegal, that planes must undergo routine maintenance, that motorbikes must have front brakes, that cars must have safety inspections before registration, all these things are impinging on my freedoms. I should have the right to build a plane or car out of barbed wire & snot, set my vicious dog onto someone else's, and rewire my house without the government "meddling" in my business. And if I want to set a fire in front of City Hall, I should be allowed to do that too.

Let insurance clean up my mess. That's what it's for.

Besides if these so-called "laws" make my activities "wrong", how am I gonna sue anyone for a fortune when I get injured or somebody gets killed?

[Tashtego]

No problemo, senor. All these freedoms you desire are daily staples and yours to enjoy here in los Estados Unidos as long as you take up residence illegally. No license required, no inspections, unlicensed trade work, flaming street protests every other week.

[lerxstcat]

wow, I'm a strickler for driving safely, and insist on wearing a belt ..it seems I'm in the minority, whenever I'm in traffic..people drive fucked up!

They passed the law in Ohio..and they are enforcing it.

I never gace a seat belt ticket..I always just advised them to put it on..like they listen

I DID give tickets for child seats tho..whenever your out and about..try to observe how many toddlers are not secured..they're jumping, and hoppping back and forth over the car seats..looking out the back window, making faces at ya...yeesh!

Yeah, I make faces back!

My little great-niece has known how to get out of her car seat since age 2. She stays in it most of the time but once in awhile she decides to wake my sister up by climbing out. What can you do?

January 1 of this year Mississippi went primary with the seatbelt as a reason to stop you, and they're serious about stopping you. I wear mine religiously anyway, so it doesn't bother me.