Seat Belt Question

[Targa Me]

Any CA police officers on this board?

Is it a violation of the seat belt law to wear the shoulder strap underneath your arm?

[Burkie61]

Yes

Buckle Up California - It's the Law!

[masraum]

if you do a search for "shoulder strap under arm seat belt" without the quotes you'll find tons of hits and folks that have actually gotten tickets for wearing the shoulder strap incorrectly.

Why would you want to anyway? Using the belt in a way other than it was designed will almost certainly result in damage that you'd have not gotten otherwise.

[Targa Me]

Thanks all.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Burkie61

Buckle Up California - It's the Law!

Question: Are there exemptions for wearing safety belts?

All passengers must be protected by safety belts. There are some narrow exceptions, including persons with health problems who carry a current letter from a physician or chiropractor.

[VaSteve]

I was in SC last week. They were running end to end ads about their seatbelt campaign. You will see guys all over SC riding their motorcycles with no helmets. What inconsistency.

It's all about getting the Federal dollars as I understand it. No "click it or ticket" campaign = no money.

[Heel n Toe]

The helmet law in SC has been back and forth several times as far as I remember... on again, off again. Personal freedom vs. riders'-freedom-impacts-insurance-costs-for-everyone.

The present law requires only those under 21 to wear helmets.

STATUTE: Title 56. Motor Vehicles. Chapter 5. uniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways. Article 29. Motorcyclists; Rights and Duties Thereof. Section 56-5-3660. Helmets shall be worn by operators and passengers under age twenty-one; helmet design; list of approved helmets. :

"It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one to operate
or ride upon a two-wheeled motorized vehicle unless he wears a protective
helmet of a type approved by the department. . . ."

" . . . a helmet must be equipped with either a neck or chin strap and be
reflectorized on both sides thereof. The department is hereby authorized
to adopt and amend regulations covering the types of helmets and the
specifications therefor and to establish and maintain a list of approved
helmets which meet the specifications as established hereunder."

[Jagshund]

I wear the shoulder harness under my arm on occasion; if my neck is acting up and I'm in bumper-to-bumper stop 'n go traffic I'd rather have my entire torso/neck/head lunge forward than just my head. I've had few surgeries on the C4-C6 area.

Okay, keyboard is starting to miss letters and occasionally spaces but with no consistency. Freaking me out here.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

I was in SC last week. They were running end to end ads about their seatbelt campaign. You will see guys all over SC riding their motorcycles with no helmets. What inconsistency.

It's all about getting the Federal dollars as I understand it. No "click it or ticket" campaign = no money.

Exactly. We have the same irony in AZ. And how about the doctors' groups who oppose helmet laws because they dry up the supply of organ donors?

[VaSteve]

I got hit with a gravel rock from a dump truck on my bike. Hit me in the leg and I was wearing motorcycle pants. That hits you in the head, it'd be like taking a bullet or a punch. Have fun with all the personal freedom.

I've had track debris come through my open helmet in the car and hit me in the face, even that hurts.

Yes, I'm a baby.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

I was in SC last week. They were running end to end ads about their seatbelt campaign. You will see guys all over SC riding their motorcycles with no helmets. What inconsistency.

It's all about getting the Federal dollars as I understand it. No "click it or ticket" campaign = no money.

More than that, it's about the insurance companies profits.

Seat belt laws have nothing to do with public safety, they have everything to do with corporate earnings.

[Rick Lee]

It's none of the state's business whether I wear a seat belt or helmet. I usually do, but it should always be my decision.

[VaSteve]

As long as your eviscerated self is stitched back together on your dime not mine, I don't give a rip - do whatever you want. I personally feel naked without my belts or m/c gear.

I do feel bad for kids, they don't know any better. I hate seeing a kid not in a kid seat leaning up against the glass and what not.

[oldE]

In many countries we try to legislate against stupid.
You could say it is to give others the benefit of our wisdom. You could say it is because it is cheaper to prevent damage than try to fit it later.

I have worn seat belts since they became available in the 60s and helmets whenever operating a motorcycle. I have benefited from those actions. Some of the early attempts at multi-point belts were pretty pathetic,(73 Torino, 97 Olds Acheiva) but they were better than nothing.

I have also attended accidents where you couldn't believe the stupid **** didn't have the belt on and (pick one) re-arranged his face on the steering wheel/went through the windshield/needed stitches to close that scalp wound /ended up under the vehicle when the door popped open.

Do me a favor. Wear the g d belts and, if you have anything in the cranium worth protecting, wear the helmet. That way, when I stop to help (and, if I am in the area where you have ended up in the ditch or dirty side up, I will stop to render assistance), I stand a better chance of saying to you," Wow! You don't have a scratch on you! Let me help you out of there."

Les

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

It's none of the state's business whether I wear a seat belt or helmet. I usually do, but it should always be my decision.

Precisely.

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

Precisely.

I'm on the same page BUT if someone skips wearing a belt and ends up a pile of mush that can't work for the rest of his life and ends up on welfare are we to pay for it?

[Taz's Master]

I think it should be our option to wear seatbelts, but I have seen a corpse that had been a driver who was ejected from a car that went in the ditch. They drove the car away. Seriously, if there is anyone in your life who cares about you, the disrespect you have for that love when you intentionally don't wear your seatbelt is overwhelming. I don't think not wearing a seatbelt should be against the law, but I'd support the idea of it being evidence that the driver is too stupid to be allowed behind the wheel.