ALWAYS wear your seat belt

[wdfifteen]

I admit I'm guilty. When I get in the back seat of a car, if the seat belts aren't out and handy to get to I don't usually rummage around to try to find them.
But an event down the road from my house Sunday reminded me of how foolish that is, not that I didn't already have an example.
Four local high school boys were in a Toyota Corolla that ran off the road into a fairly deep ditch, back onto the road and into a tree on the other side, and rolled over. The two in front were wearing seat belts. One walked to the nearest house to get help, the driver has non-threatening injuries. Neither of the two in back were wearing seat belts and were thrown from the car and crushed by it. Both died at the scene.
Years ago my son's best friend was thrown from the back seat of a car, out the window, and the car rolled over on him. He died 2 days before his high school graduation.
Our whole neighborhood is in mourning.
Always wear seat belts.

[masraum]

Wow, horrible news for so many folks. I'm not likely to put a seatbelt on when in the back seat. I guess fortunately, I'm also very unlikely to be in a back seat or even in a car with back seats, but still, it does happen occasionally.

[GH85Carrera]

Yep, I wear one 100% of the time. It is such a habit I end up buckling up to move my car from one side of the garage to the other, and I never leave the driveway.

I made a bit of a scene a few years back when we went to dinner with another couple. I started to get into the back seat and the belts were not to be seen. They had been pushed behind the seats and they had a lot of crap in the very back. I would not ride the few miles to the restaurant unbuckled. It was a very hot day and the driver said his kids ride back there all the time unbuckled. I told him that he must not like his kids and I told him I would drive in my car an meet them there. He was pissed big time but so was I. No way I am riding without seat-belts.

I worked as a commercial photographer for many years. One of our clients was an ambulance chaser lawyer. He called me to photograph the fatality accidents weekly. I saw up close and personal the aftermath of too many crashes. Big pools of blood in the back seats and dead pets left to really stink things up.

[fastfredracing]

100% wear it all the time. Cars are designed so that you are basically safe if you stay in your seat, in that general area. Once you leave that space, your odds of survival go down tenfold.
Good customer lost his daughter. Rolled over a small embankment , less than 20 mph. She came out the sunroof, and the car crushed her.
I talk to the local officer a lot, and the stories he tells me , make me cringe .
One guy came out of the car between the door frame, and roof pillar, de-skinned on the way out . Another , the torso folded in half 180 degrees backwards at the waist hanging out the passenger window . Most of these would have been 100 % survivable , had their belts been on.
My wife refuses to wear one. Drives me insane.

[Rich Lambert]

If I drive more than 10 feet without a seatbelt I have an anxiety attack.

[sammyg2]

I always wear my seat belt because it's the law. but it is a waste of time (for me).
I've driven well over a million miles and never needed a seat belt. Or an air bag for that matter. I really don't think I'll ever need either one.

Some people wreck cars and some people do not.
Those that do have bigger issues than seat belts.

[Otter74]

I won't pull out of the garage or a parking spot without putting my seat belt on. On the other hand, I have been in a Hindustan Ambassador or piled 8-up in a Mitsubishi Mirage getting driven around Bangalore in insane traffic with no seatbelts to be had and I think I just let go of the anxiety because I didn't have a choice.

[legion]

My driving style is not conducive to not wearing a seat belt. I slide around too much in the sea while cornering.

[Neilk]

Some of our PARF friends might consider this fake news, but check out the video below before getting in the back seat. I certainly don't want someone crushing me against the steering wheel because they aren't wearing one.


ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos

[WolfeMacleod]

Always wear them.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by legion

My driving style is not conducive to not wearing a seat belt. I slide around too much in the sea while cornering.

Don't forget under heavy braking, too.

[legion]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Don't forget under heavy braking, too.

I try not to use brakes. Maybe that's why I run through tires so fast.

[masraum]

Where's "Sniper" when you need him?

[Rikao4]

LEO's in my area can't be bothered...
as folks still haul their kids / friends in the back of pick-ups ..
then again their busy on their cell-phones..
as a former Para..I seldom unbuckled dead folks..
those we did..
belt..smelt ..no matter..
nothing would have changed the outcome..

as for Snipers Monkey roll..
roll all you want..
be it into the wall or oncoming traffic.
results are the same..
SPLAT!!

Rika

[VINMAN]

I never wore a seat belt until I became a firefighter. After my first few accidents seeing people through windshields and ejected out of vehicles, I immediately started wearing one.

.

[carreradpt]

I always wear one. It saved my life a few yrs ago in my previous 911 in an accident that was not my fault as I got careened off the road and down an embankment. Walked away, but very very slowly. And I not only wear it but I wear it tightly.

[stomachmonkey]

Seatbelt kept me from being decapitated by the hood of Mike's 72 Camaro when his brother Mark tried to prove to me it handled (bent rim and all) better than a 911.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I always wear my seat belt because it's the law. but it is a waste of time (for me).
I've driven well over a million miles and never needed a seat belt. Or an air bag for that matter. I really don't think I'll ever need either one.

Some people wreck cars and some people do not.
Those that do have bigger issues than seat belts.

Sammy - you've been lucky. What happens when someone ELSE runs a red light?

[rattlsnak]

I am guilty of not wearing one 90% of the time. I'm not exactly sure why, but it's a habit I just can't get used to.

[ckelly78z]

When I was first driving about 35 years ago, I didn't have that sense of self preservation, and sometimes clicked the belt, but not always. When I started dating my wife, she had an 1985 Jeep CJ7 that was a handful on the road. We also took the doors, and top off in the Summer. All you need to do is to look down at 60 MPH to the hard pavement whizzing by to realize that even an unexpected swerve could kill either one of us. I always wear it now.