Seat Belt Law

[damage855]

Originally Posted by lefty o

seatbelts save more lives than not. wear yours or not, i dont care. insurance companies are the reason we have seatbelt laws, they pushed hard for it through their lobbiest. why? because they determined it cost them a heck of a lot more money if you died.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

[TXplt]

Originally Posted by damage855

I think you hit the nail on the head.

I don't know.....seems to me they could exclude coverage for not wearing your seat belt or helmet. I remember that's what we did when active duty--they'd do a line of duty investigation and if you weren't wearing your seatbelt you'd be the one paying or facing denial of benefits.

I think the law might have been passed more of the legislative protectionism mentality.

[TexasT]

My best friend was coming back from accounting field work in Abilene today. He and a coworker were traveling down I-35 and when they came over a hill all they could see was dust, a white truck spinning, and an expedition rolling. They pulled over and jumped out to help the family in the Expedition. When he got to the car all he could see was a little kid in a car seat and 2 adults in the front. He jumped in and pulled out the little kid (about 3 years old) and he saw two other kids strapped in. The EMS responded quickly and was able to remove the other kids (2 years old and 7). The amazing thing was that everybody walked away from the accident unscathed. No doubt it was due to the seat belts because if any of them were thrown from the car they could have gotten rolled on by the Expedition or hit by passing cars.

Any of you can choose to not wear seat belts if you want. But please strap in your children. He has been witness to how it can save lives. I have spent enough time on the trauma service to be witness to this as well.

Statistics really don't matter until it's you.

[troy2000]

Somehow I can't work up a whole lot of sympathy for someone who's indignantly asserting his right to die messily when he gets t-boned in an intersection, instead of probably getting out of his car in more or less one piece...

[Big Tool]

Originally Posted by TexasT

My best friend was coming back from accounting field work in Abilene today. He and a coworker were traveling down I-35 and when they came over a hill all they could see was dust, a white truck spinning, and an expedition rolling. They pulled over and jumped out to help the family in the Expedition. When he got to the car all he could see was a little kid in a car seat and 2 adults in the front. He jumped in and pulled out the little kid (about 3 years old) and he saw two other kids strapped in. The EMS responded quickly and was able to remove the other kids (2 years old and 7). The amazing thing was that everybody walked away from the accident unscathed. No doubt it was due to the seat belts because if any of them were thrown from the car they could have gotten rolled on by the Expedition or hit by passing cars.

Any of you can choose to not wear seat belts if you want. But please strap in your children. He has been witness to how it can save lives. I have spent enough time on the trauma service to be witness to this as well.

Statistics really don't matter until it's you.

I agree that children should have to wear their seat belts. A child is not knowledgable enough to make such a decision, and if a parent chooses not to buckle up their young child, then they are endangering the life of someone else.

I know seat belts can save lives, but they can also take them. A girl i knew from school was involved in a wreck. She flipped over her car in a ditch survived the accident, but she couldn't get out of her seat belt. The car caught on fire and she burned to death. Still can't believe she is gone.

I knew another guy who was in a wreck, who didn't have a seatbelt on so he jumped into the passengar seat before he crashed. Police said he would be dead, because the drivers side was totally demolished. The police told the guy that if he had on his seat belt he would be dead. He walked away fine.

I was driving behind my fiancee coming home from church one sunday evening. She was driving her 1985 Silverado, and it had just rained. We were in a argument so she was crying and driving way to fast and didn't have on her seat belt. She lost control going around a curve going 70 mph. Rolled over her truck. I was right behind her when it happened and watched the whole thing. I knew she had to be hurt or dead. I went running over to the truck and pulled her out. She was fine. A couple bruises but that was it.

My point is that every time a person gets behind the wheel of a vehcle there is a risk of death. When it is your time to go the seat belt really isn't going to decide anything. Sure it may help your odds, which is why I wear mine, but I just don't see how the government can fine me for not betting on the better odds. I think a person smoking is pretty much guaranteed to have some form of health problems, and unlike a person in a car wreck who dies quickly, a person with cancer tends to linger around suffering for quiet a while. Not only do they have health problems but so do their children who breathe the second hand smoke. So when is the government going to ban smoking???

[TexasT]

I personally think people should wear seat belts because they end up eating up a lot of resources when they have to be in the ICU. If you don't care enough to protect your own life then you shouldn't be allowed to take resources from people who need them.

[Big Tool]

Originally Posted by troy2000

Somehow I can't work up a whole lot of sympathy for someone who's indignantly asserting his right to die messily when he gets t-boned in an intersection, instead of probably getting out of his car in more or less one piece...

What about a person who chooses to ride a motorcycle for the fun of it, instead of as a primary means of transportation???

I imagine a person not wearing a seatbelt will come out alot better than a fella riding his weekend harley in 90% of cases.

Originally Posted by TexasT

I personally think people should wear seat belts because they end up eating up a lot of resources when they have to be in the ICU. If you don't care enough to protect your own life then you shouldn't be allowed to take resources from people who need them.

What about people who smoke, drink, eat un-healthy, permiscuous, extreme sports, own a gun. They are all taking a risk. Should the government fine people for being a fat A$$e$. I believe heart disease is the #1 killer of people in america.

I'm not saying people shouldn't wear seatbelts. I'm all for it. I am against being fined because i forgot to put mine on while driving in town going 25mph, and feeling like a criminal for something the government dosen't have any business dictating.

[mdj696]

MONEY! I'll stand along side wingwiper and exas T. Do you really beleive politicians with that we care BS. To them your just a number. True its the insurance industry lobbiest that force the govnment to make the laws, not to protect you but more unspent revenue for insurance companies. Wife insurance agent told me other day in N.C., by law, insurance companys cant sell medical coverage if you ride a motorcycle. Over 20 years in law enforcement, its a rubic cube if seat belts save lives or not. Too many eqasions to argue whether seat belts saves lives or not. Son asked me once how many fatalities I think I handeled over the years, told him I couldn't remember them all. I've seen minor accidents where people killed with a broken neck or something. I've seen them in major accidents walk away from it. Some I remember well. Kid on cycle went to pass 18 wheeler on right side, truck turning into drive, caught kid under rear tandums over his head, helmit warped out of shape, he walked away. Seen head on collisions so massive, people wearing belts died instantly. Old couple t boned not wearing belts, heads exploded into each. I could go on and on. Revenue getter for police dept. not hardly, in Ga $10.00 ticket. Seat belt violation, probale cause to pull someone over like 3:00 AM. Only time I wore belt before laws passed were in patrol car, finding one self having to drive 100 mph+ in many cases. Had many friends die in high speed chases. Back to Wingwiper, its not the government taking away freedom of choice, its the insurance companys. They have us by the gonads. They're the ones who dictate what we can and can't do, its the government job to enforce (insurane) laws. If you don't pay your taxes, guess what. Insurance companys can turn you into a pedestrian over night, especially in N.C.

[TexasT]

Originally Posted by Big Tool

What about people who smoke, drink, eat un-healthy, permiscuous, extreme sports, own a gun. They are all taking a risk. Should the government fine people for being a fat A$$. I believe heart disease is the #1 killer of people in america.

I agree with you that there are worse things than forgetting to buckle your belt as soon as you pull out of the driveway. That's not an issue.

I have little sympathy for people who drive motorcycles. This doesn't apply to everybody, but from what I see on the roads, many cyclists think they're above following the posted street signs. They dangerously weave in and out of traffic, they drive too fast, they don't wear helmets, and they are more unpredictable than just about anybody on the road. You don't know when they'll decide they want to burn rubber at 90 mph while you're trying to switch lanes. Personally, I don't care for this form of transportation.

From what I've seen, people who have heart disease die pretty quickly or bounce back reasonably well. I've been through the ICU and out of 32 beds I'd say 70% of the people residing in them are MVAs. In the Cardiac ICU there's a good mix of congenital heart disease patients, heart transplant patients, heart attack patients, and cardiothoracic surgery patients...just to name a few. And not everyone who has a heart problem is negligent of their own health. Not everybody who has heart failure is a fat ass so to speak. I just saw a normal weight male with significant heart failure mainly because he a low economic worker with no health insurance, and partly because he was uneducated about what to watch for. Maybe the money pumped into the "click it or ticket" campaign can be used to raise awareness about heart disease since it is a preventable cause of death.

[JohnnyRebel]

The seatbelt law is just like any other law. It's a feel good law. They make people feel good.

Laws have never stopped anyone from doing anything.

The "legislatures" pass these laws without ever consulting the people. The Government is not supposed to "govern" the people. The people were here 1st and the people formed the Government. The Government isn't supposed to tell us anything we are supposed to tell it.

[Big Tool]

Originally Posted by mdj696

MONEY! I'll stand along side wingwiper and exas T. Do you really beleive politicians with that we care BS. To them your just a number. True its the insurance industry lobbiest that force the govnment to make the laws, not to protect you but more unspent revenue for insurance companies. Wife insurance agent told me other day in N.C., by law, insurance companys cant sell medical coverage if you ride a motorcycle. Over 20 years in law enforcement, its a rubic cube if seat belts save lives or not. Too many eqasions to argue whether seat belts saves lives or not. Son asked me once how many fatalities I think I handeled over the years, told him I couldn't remember them all. I've seen minor accidents where people killed with a broken neck or something. I've seen them in major accidents walk away from it. Some I remember well. Kid on cycle went to pass 18 wheeler on right side, truck turning into drive, caught kid under rear tandums over his head, helmit warped out of shape, he walked away. Seen head on collisions so massive, people wearing belts died instantly. Old couple t boned not wearing belts, heads exploded into each. I could go on and on. Revenue getter for police dept. not hardly, in Ga $10.00 ticket. Seat belt violation, probale cause to pull someone over like 3:00 AM. Only time I wore belt before laws passed were in patrol car, finding one self having to drive 100 mph+ in many cases. Had many friends die in high speed chases. Back to Wingwiper, its not the government taking away freedom of choice, its the insurance companys. They have us by the gonads. They're the ones who dictate what we can and can't do, its the government job to enforce (insurane) laws. If you don't pay your taxes, guess what. Insurance companys can turn you into a pedestrian over night, especially in N.C.

How do normal citizens have a say in such situations???

I was talking to my neighbor the other day. His daughter is a doctor who was hired to specifically treat medicaid babies. She told my neighbor they were trying to pass a bill to ban fat people from eating at fast food restaurants.

I thought he was joking at first and he went on to explain that it was because of obese people especially on medicaid who were sucking government dollars while sucking down big macs.

I know it won't pass right now, but give it 10 years and a few million dollars in ad campaigns showing how bad obesity is and people will praising the bill just like so many do now with the seat belt law.


I don't watch the news, but a quick search on google pulled it up. I know it is not going to pass any time soon, but the fact is they are introducing ideas such as this is just plain sick.

YouTube - Mississippi: Fat People Can't Eat Here

[Otter]

I wouldn't drive across the street without putting on my seatbelt, I don't think the government should mandate that I wear it.
I think people who choose not to wear a helmet or seatbelt should be limited to how much they can collect for personal injury.
Ask anyone in the law inforcement, most will say that they have never cut the seatbelt off a dead person.
Wearing a seatbelt will increase the chance of surviving a serious accident, but what alot of people don't understand is that it can keep you at the controls of a vehicle in a minor accident, increasing the chance of regaining control of the vehicle, instead of bouncing around the inside of the vehicle.
I agree that the government has too much control of us, I don't think twice about putting on the seatbelt, but I oppose helmet laws.

[Wingwiper]

Once again People

Nationally out of all the people killed on U.S. highways, 55% were NOT wearing Seat belts and 45% WERE. where is the Hoorah coming from? 5%, how do you know that the 5% wouldn't have died anyways whether they were or weren't??? Got a better crystal ball?

Seatbelts, Shoulder harnesses and airbags cause a lot of other injuries as well. airbags even killed a lot of kids before someone opened their eyes.

I can not for the life of me, see where you all can defend it SAVES so many lives.

When you count every accident and include people who were crushed by falling bridges and then make asidine statements "no one had their seat belts on" I can not help but think but DUH! they were crushed and ?????

IT SHOULD BE CHOICE AND NOT LAW.

Insurance Lobbied for the laws, so they could collect more in rates and pay out less in settlements. They wanted to only protect their bottom line, it had nothing to do with moral issues.

[soonerborn]

Originally Posted by Wingwiper

I can not for the life of me, see where you all can defend it SAVES so many lives.

I hear ya, but even if all the fatalities were not wearing seat belt or vice versa, it is just not the point of the issue. What some people are failing to understand is that by defending the seat belt law they are defending the governments "right" to enact laws that govern personal behavior. They are giving the government the power to set dangerous precedents that will eventually lead to a law that they dont agree with only to find they woke up too late.

[Wingwiper]

Originally Posted by soonerborn

I hear ya, but even if all the fatalities were not wearing seat belt or vice versa, it is just not the point of the issue. What some people are failing to understand is that by defending the seat belt law they are defending the governments "right" to enact laws that govern personal behavior. They are giving the government the power to set dangerous precedents that will eventually lead to a law that they dont agree with only to find they woke up too late.

Sooner,

I wish I had your talent. You said it so much better than I and in so fewer words.

ABSOLUTEY 100% right on.

I said it earlier, We can argue from now till the Cows come home about moral this and moral that, but the Seat belt law is a Fox in Sheeps clothing, it is about BOTTOM LINE and not about you or me. I want the CHOICE.

[TexasT]

OMG!! Oh noes!! The sky is falling!

[mdj696]

Otter, I guess I'm in a minority of law enforcement because I have, but then again those were accidents where damage were so intense, it wouldn't have mattered whether a seat belt was in use or not. Example, cars cut in half by trees, headon collisions of speeds in excess of 100 mph+, 18 wheelers cruching cars, etc., plus I've seen them personally where they couldn't unbuckle them. Thats the one reason everybody (cops) carried a hawk bill knife with them.

[soonerborn]

Originally Posted by Wingwiper

Sooner,

I wish I had your talent. You said it so much better than I and in so fewer words.

ABSOLUTEY 100% right on.

I said it earlier, We can argue from now till the Cows come home about moral this and moral that, but the Seat belt law is a Fox in Sheeps clothing, it is about BOTTOM LINE and not about you or me. I want the CHOICE.

Thank you very much Wingwiper, but sometimes I can run my mouth faster than I can engage my brain, lol. Lookout!