I find them highly uncomfortable, but in reality it's a simple issue of freedom. Namely mine. If i get 'caught' (never have been), then IMO the fine is simply the cost of freedom.

The law has nothing to do with safety anyway, it's there to placate the insurance lobby and line the governmental coffers.

If it was actually about safety, motorcycles wouldn't even be allowed on the road, nor would SUV's. 18 wheelers would actually have real safety measures designed into them. But it's not.

Which of course, we all know.

have you ever considered what would happen to you gf/wife/kids/best friends if you were to terminate from an accident where a seat belt would have saved ya??
i like to wear my belt so i can go a bit faster through the twisty bits.:D

No, i don't worry about dying, it's beyond my control.

I could get hit by a plane as i sit here typing on PPOT, when death comes, it comes.

Now you have me lookin out the window, up at the sky every few mins!

I was against seatbelts until I became a firefighter and started cutting people out of wrecks. Changes your whole perspective.

Granted I still think seatbelt laws are BS.

i am against seatbelt laws. i wear my seatbelt. it has saved me from serious injury and complete loss of control more than once.

i am also against helmet laws. i wear an expensive shoei helmet, armored jacket, and sidi boots. haven't tested them out yet. but i've seen the difference, working in the ER, between those that wear proper gear and those that don't.

it is unfortunate that Government supersedes natural selection.

they do it for the children....

Due to the far higher number of vehicle occupants not wearing seatbelts in the US, vehicle manufacturers have had to use more explosive, faster reacting airbags to ensure that they deploy quickly enough to protect un-restrained occupants. As a result, this has led to a far higher number of instances where severe injury and death has been "caused" by airbag deployment.

This aspect and the additional cost to society to treat and rehabilitate these self-righteous rights activists, should be more than enough reason to substatiate the need to legislate such rules.

Driving to the coast the other day, noticed a young couple in a hon-dat-toy. (The all look alike to me...the Japanese rolling jelly beans) Anyway, lovely young lady was enjoying the beautiful weather, her feet on the dash. Damned near followed, in order to tell her what would happen to her lovely long legs if the airbag deployed.

But then, I'd have just been another grumpy old curmudgeon who didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

I've been in one acccident in my life. Got hit by a '74 Buick going 60, me in my 240Z. Impact cracked the dash in half, car started on fire.

Seat belts saved my life, I walked away.

Anyone who does not wear a seat belt should not be on the road, no amount of enforcement is too much as I (and the rest of society) get to pay the price when someone who should have walked away gets mashed or crippled or dies.

Keep in mind the majority of unrestrained injuries are not caused so much by the intrusion of the car into the passenger compartment, but rather the bouncing of the human body against the interior. Seat belts keep the bounce down.

Motorbikers at least have a chance of getting off and sliding to a stop and "hopefully" avoiding stationary objects in the process....hence I can get my head around them being on the road without restraints...wouldn't be the safest choice. The motorbikers equivalent of a seatbelt is a helmet, if motorcyclists refuse to wear a helmet...they do not get on a bike in Canada and that is as it should be.

Oh, yeah, interesting story. The Buick I hit had prototype air bags in it, they went off, broke the collarbone of the occupant. Accident got investigated by your DOT and GM, they came and interviewed me. Both were engineers and we had a good conversation. They (at that time) said that the only reason air bags made sense is that the average American (as opposed to Canadian, European etc) would never reliably wear a seat belt and air bags were the best alternative. I think that technology moved on, but they were two very sincere gentlemen....both said that if you wore a seat belt reliably you did not really need air bags.

Dennis

Thank you for your opinion Comrade Oz.

I hit a steel utility pole head on in a 1987 VW Rabbit at 50mph once upon a time. All 3 occupants walked away with minor injuries.

It's not the cost to society if you expire in a traffic accident (self-inflicted or aided by a drunk). The less convenient part is when you're not dead but part of your brain is, or you're left a quadraplegic or a complete veggie. If you have health insurance, then everyone's premium goes up. And then, there is family and/or friends that have to nurse you because you can't do it by yourself.

That's why.

Thus, if you want to risk your life by not taking basic precautions, make sure you finish the job before you become a potential burden.

BTW, if you're not going to use your seat belts and they're in good shape, I'll take them off your hands.

Sherwood

Well, there ya go.

Lots of good reasons to strap in regardless of whether you agree with a law telling you to do so, Bill.

Whaddaya say... try it for a week?

I'd hate for you to have to change your sig line to ""Lo and behold, i am the lone veggie in a sea of beavers."

I like having you around as one of my BFF's, too. :D

Ahhhh, that explains it. ;)

You're lucky it wasn't something more substantial.

I've been driving a car for 24 years, and riding in cars for 40 years. I have never been in an accident, thankfully. The times I can remember being in a car without a seatbelt on are probably less than 10, and those rides scared the crap out of me.

I'm glad that when I was a kid, my parents wouldn't start the car until all of us had our seatbelts on. Seatbelts to me aren't habit, they are instinct.

The wearing of seatbelts is not a freedom issue, it is a common sense issue.

turned into legislation by our politicians. bah, humbug.

Slippery slope. "I'm sorry Mr. Smith, we're not approving your coronary bypass. It seems you have been eating too much red meat."

You can't pass laws requiring people to do things because they are "good" for them. Yep, your insurance premiums are a little higher because I eat cheeseburgers. Get over it.

People forget that every single law ever enacted involves a loss of freedom. If you want to outlaw every unsafe activity we can start with cigarettes, booze, hang gliding, motorcycling, skydiving and driving rear engined sports cars.

We need to allow people to ride without helmets or seat belts because the freedom it represents is far more precious than the modest cost to society.

My stance on this pains me a bit, because I agree with everything being said about the cost to freedom- I loathe govt regulation of just about anything. But I still can't help but to believe that not wearing a seatbelt makes you more of a threat to other motorists. Quantifying that would be impossible, no doubt. It makes me feel dirty to support seatbelt legislation, but I still have to.

Just to show I am being logical about it, I think hemet laws are silly. That doesn't make you more of a threat as far as I can tell, and if you want to fertilize the highway with your brains, then go for it.

You. Mr Risk Averse. Have you ever been in a car crash?

I was in a crash in February, car hit a cliff. I got knocked out, still have headaches and neck aches. The car was was badly hurt.

I was wearing a Stilo helmet, a HANS device, strapped in an FIA seat by 6 point harness, inside a fully caged car.

If you dont wear a belt in moving vehicle, you are an idiot. You are actually beyond idiot.

LOL. Yeah, but dont visit sth East Asia (coups, terrorists, dragons) and dont go in the ocean (sharks).

You are a crackup Snipper.