Anybody noticed an increased emphasis on seat belts lately?

[Italian_Touch]

Yes .....it does...

Venray... this was a way too easy call! 😀
And we also learned something: trolls can't spell! 🙂

 

[TICKLESRWAY2FUN]

Yes .....it does...

please explain because i would luv to know how???????????

 

[venray]

If you cant follow the rules of safety, then you are an unsafe driver...

If you break the simple rules then I am sure you break others and it is that type of driver that we do not need more of on the road...

They are foolish, ignorant, and do not give a damn about anyone but themselves and in short....are indeeed morons...

If you chosse to be one of THEM so be it...It speaks volumes of your character as do your posts where you call everyone else names if they dont agree with your ridiculous POV....

My 7 year old has more sense....

 

[asutickler]

The main problem with seatbelts is that some people rway2stupid to wear them.

Darwin's law in action, I suppose...

 

[Italian_Touch]

The main problem with seatbelts is that some people rway2stupid to wear them.

Darwin's law in action, I suppose...

or "intelligent elimination", if you prefer... 😉 😀

 

[He-Man]

it's also illegal to operate a vehicle out here that has no bag or some other sort of trash recepticle.

Too bad they don't have something like that in Louisiana..the streets after Mardi Gras would be a hell of alot cleaner.

 

[knight]

I think some people are missing the point of the whole seatbelt law. This isn't about freedoms being infringed upon. That's a whole other can of worms which I'm not going to open here. Seatbelts are about safety. Specifically, your safety. The safety of you passengers. It's about protecting yourself. I don't care if you drive a Yugo, a ferrari, a pickup truck, or an SUV. When one large, thousand pound vehicle crashed into another thousand pund vehicle moving at even 25 miles per hour, you run the risk of serious injury.

I was listening to NPR the other day, and they were discussing this very issue on the Mark Steiner show. It was about Maryland drivers. Estimates put the number of drivers in MD who don't wear seatbelts at somewhere around 50,000. 50,000 people who are driving around, with no restraint. I don't know if anyone on this forum is familiar with MD, but our highways are like the Autobahn. 70mph is slow here. If any of these people hit something, they are going to go straight through their windshields. And despite what you see in the movies, you don't just get up, brush yourself off, and go about your day after going through a windshield. You go to the hospital. And so are your passengers, if they are not also belted in. This is not about freedom. It's about physics. It's about safety. It's about potentially saving your life.

 

[maniactickler]

I think some people are missing the point of the whole seatbelt law. This isn't about freedoms being infringed upon. That's a whole other can of worms which I'm not going to open here. Seatbelts are about safety. Specifically, your safety. The safety of you passengers. It's about protecting yourself. I don't care if you drive a Yugo, a ferrari, a pickup truck, or an SUV. When one large, thousand pound vehicle crashed into another thousand pund vehicle moving at even 25 miles per hour, you run the risk of serious injury.

I was listening to NPR the other day, and they were discussing this very issue on the Mark Steiner show. It was about Maryland drivers. Estimates put the number of drivers in MD who don't wear seatbelts at somewhere around 50,000. 50,000 people who are driving around, with no restraint. I don't know if anyone on this forum is familiar with MD, but our highways are like the Autobahn. 70mph is slow here. If any of these people hit something, they are going to go straight through their windshields. And despite what you see in the movies, you don't just get up, brush yourself off, and go about your day after going through a windshield. You go to the hospital. And so are your passengers, if they are not also belted in. This is not about freedom. It's about physics. It's about safety. It's about potentially saving your life.

Completely and totally wrong! its all about freedom and money. bottom line. its nobodys damn business if i wear my seatbelt or not. if i want to be stupid and risk my life, its my friggen business! this is the same thing as the government coming into your house and telling you that you can only eat certain foods because they are unhealthy and might lead to you dying. plus the government doesnt give a rats ass about your safety. its just a way to get revenue.

 

[Italian_Touch]

Completely and totally wrong! its all about freedom and money. bottom line. its nobodys damn business if i wear my seatbelt or not. if i want to be stupid and risk my life, its my friggen business! this is the same thing as the government coming into your house and telling you that you can only eat certain foods because they are unhealthy and might lead to you dying. plus the government doesnt give a rats ass about your safety. its just a way to get revenue.

I get your general point, so I do not disagree with the bottomline concept of being free and that personal freedom is an utmost fundament of democratic western society, and expecially US.
But it is not the only value on which a country is based for, so, as all the fundamentalisms, a "fundametalist freedom" is per se wrong.
You actually brought up a basic question: which is the value of relativism in the exertion of individual freedom? The question is: are a culture and/or a country that guarantee your freedom, let's say, to be stupid, or ignorant or a danger for others or yourself, ar of harm for yourself or others, which ultimately means do what the f*** you feel right to do, a supercivilized country or just a bad, non progressive country? My personal believe is this is what society is all about: not being each single individual aware of all the facts and competent in everything, there is a society based on common values that heads to a certain directions; then laws are rules are agreed to pursue those values. Honestly, I really don't understand how someone could be against a policy so blatantly effective in saving lives and avoid injuries, and personally I think that a society that enforces this rule is just civilized (also considering that it costs you nothing!). But the concept behind is deeper, because it emphasizes that without shared values behind, everything becomes relative and it seems to me that your comments reflect the ongoing generalized attitude in the western world (I see it here as well as in Europe, even if the specific "targets" are different) of destructurate and relativize values that are at the basis of our shared culture (in this case, the protection of life during normal daily activities, like riding your car).

 

[asutickler]

Completely and totally wrong! its all about freedom and money. bottom line. its nobodys damn business if i wear my seatbelt or not.

If you don't have sufficient insurance coverage or financial resources to pay for the medical care you'll require after being injured in an accident, then the rest of us are going to wind up footing the bill. People who wear seatbelts will almost always sustain less injury in an accident than people who do not. You'll have to pardon me, but I have absolutely no desire to subsidize someone's arrogant disregard for their own safety through my tax dollars.

 

[maniactickler]

If you don't have sufficient insurance coverage or financial resources to pay for the medical care you'll require after being injured in an accident, then the rest of us are going to wind up footing the bill. People who wear seatbelts will almost always sustain less injury in an accident than people who do not. You'll have to pardon me, but I have absolutely no desire to subsidize someone's arrogant disregard for their own safety through my tax dollars.

Then you can feel free to be a government puppet. the accident will probably kill me anyway so dont worry about your wallet. try focusing more on illegal aliens who are really ripping you off instead of legal taxpayers like myself.

 

[knight]

Completely and totally wrong! its all about freedom and money. bottom line. its nobodys damn business if i wear my seatbelt or not. if i want to be stupid and risk my life, its my friggen business! this is the same thing as the government coming into your house and telling you that you can only eat certain foods because they are unhealthy and might lead to you dying. plus the government doesnt give a rats ass about your safety. its just a way to get revenue.

Freedom to be stupid and risk your life. Well, yes, I guess you do have that right. Now I do agree that there are many laws that are unfair, unjust, and just plain damn wrong. I happen to believe that the seatbelt law is not one of them. And there really is no parallel between this and the government telling me what foods to eat. Yes, thousands of people die every year from heart disease, but that's due to lack of exercise just as much as diet (or a congenital heart condition, which is genetic). But when you drive, you really are taking your life in your hands. Look at the number of fatalities every year in auto accidents. It's in the tens of thousands. And most of those would not be fatalities if they were wearing seatbelts. You want to take that risk, fine. But consider the effect your death would have on the people in your life. Not just your dependants (if you have any), but the people who love you. They probably wouldn't like seeing you die when it could have been prevented.

Finally, what revenue are you talking about? Seatbelts? Where in the purchase of a car is the price of seatbelts? Are there any car dealers who would reduce the price of a car if you asked for the seatbelts removed? Car manufacturers put seatbelts in cars because they have to. It's a safety feature. Now if you are talking about airbags, yes in some vehicles airbags are still optional (although more and more they are becoming standard features). But seatbelts in cars has been a standard, required practice for decades. The government isn't making any money from seatbelts. Now if you're talking about the government making money off of fining you for not wearing a seatbelt, well there's a simple solution to that. Wear a seatbelt. Then they can't fine you.

 

[maniactickler]

Freedom to be stupid and risk your life. Well, yes, I guess you do have that right. Now I do agree that there are many laws that are unfair, unjust, and just plain damn wrong. I happen to believe that the seatbelt law is not one of them. And there really is no parallel between this and the government telling me what foods to eat. Yes, thousands of people die every year from heart disease, but that's due to lack of exercise just as much as diet (or a congenital heart condition, which is genetic). But when you drive, you really are taking your life in your hands. Look at the number of fatalities every year in auto accidents. It's in the tens of thousands. And most of those would not be fatalities if they were wearing seatbelts. You want to take that risk, fine. But consider the effect your death would have on the people in your life. Not just your dependants (if you have any), but the people who love you. They probably wouldn't like seeing you die when it could have been prevented.

Finally, what revenue are you talking about? Seatbelts? Where in the purchase of a car is the price of seatbelts? Are there any car dealers who would reduce the price of a car if you asked for the seatbelts removed? Car manufacturers put seatbelts in cars because they have to. It's a safety feature. Now if you are talking about airbags, yes in some vehicles airbags are still optional (although more and more they are becoming standard features). But seatbelts in cars has been a standard, required practice for decades. The government isn't making any money from seatbelts. Now if you're talking about the government making money off of fining you for not wearing a seatbelt, well there's a simple solution to that. Wear a seatbelt. Then they can't fine you.

You people just dont get it.

 

[knight]

You people just dont get it.

Then explain it to me. Please. I really am trying to understand. I agree, our personal freedoms are in jeapordy. But it just seems to me that the issues we should be focusing on are things like unlawful wiretapping, the government being able to detain me without telling me the reason, looking at what I check out from the library. Compared to those issues, the seatbelt law is not worth fighting over. If you don't want to wear a seatblet, if you really feel it is an infringement on your rights, don't wear one. You have the right to your opinion, and the right to dissent. I simply disagree. But if you do not wear a seatbelt, and the police catch that, you will be ticketed. That's the law. Maybe it is an unjust law, but right now it is the law. If you do not want to pay the fine, if you do not want the government to have more of your money, just wear a seatbelt. It really is a little thing. And it just might protect you, too.

 

[venray]

You people just dont get it.

Dude...YOU are the one not getting it...Driving and having a license to do so is NOT a right...It is a privilege and as such is governed by rules and reg...they can say you cant drive while on the phone for safety reasons and can do the same for seatbelts...

If you dont wear one while driving then you are a lot less intelligent than I used to give you credit for...

These rules are NOT an infringement on freedom.....you do NOT HAVE freedom where driving is concerned....

So get over it...or stay off the roads and let the rest of us feel much safer...

 

[maniactickler]

Dude...YOU are the one not getting it...Driving and having a license to do so is NOT a right...Itis a privilege and as such is governed by rules and reg...they can say you cant drive while on the phone for safety reasons and can do the same for seatbelts...

If you dont wear one while driving then you are a lot less intelligent than I used to give you credit for...

These rules are NOT an infringement on freedom.....you do NOT HAVE freedom where driving is concerned....

So get over it...or stay off the roads and let the rest of us feel much safer...

Might as well start passing laws that dont allow eating, drinking, putting on make up, shaving, and you might as well even toss in talking while driving. all are safety concerns and shouldnt be allowed as well.

 

[Italian_Touch]

Might as well start passing laws that dont allow eating, drinking, putting on make up, shaving, and you might as well even toss in talking while driving. all are safety concerns and shouldnt be allowed as well.

actually, that's already the law in Italy (not for talking), and we are not exactely a country without freedom, for what it counts.

As for the "talking": have you ever noticed the sign: "do not talk to the driver" on buses? What do you think it is there for? Just to avoid annoyance to the guy?

Oh, and I would also add that tickling a driver is -sigh! - dangerous... and should be forbidden too... at least unless the car is stopped at a red traffic light! 😉

 

[venray]

Might as well start passing laws that dont allow eating, drinking, putting on make up, shaving, and you might as well even toss in talking while driving. all are safety concerns and shouldnt be allowed as well.

I totally support that. There are too many idiots not paying attention while operating a vehicle and I for one am tired of having to drive defensively because of fools spilling coffee or apllying makeup or shaving while their car is in motion and they are drifting between lanes...

I would LOVE to see that crap banned.....but even that wouldnt stop the morons from breaking the law...

 

[maniactickler]

I totally support that. There are too many idiots not paying attention while operating a vehicle and I for one am tired of having to drive defensively because of fools spi;;ing coffe or apllying makeup or shaving while their car is in motion and they are drifting between lanes...

I would LOVE to see that crap banned.....but even that wouldnt stop the morons from breaking the law...

Try and get legislation going to pass a bill that bans eating while driving. youll get hung by your toes! ill agree on one of those though. ban WOMEN from talking on cell phones! sexist you say? so be it!

 

[venray]

Cell phones are banned in my state unless you wear a headset...

There is legislation in the works to ban drinking and eating while operating the vehicle.....

It will indeed pass eventually...

 

[stloldg]

In St. Louis they can only give you a ticket for not wearing a seat belt if you committed another offense. The fine is $10 per adult in the front seat and $10 for every child.

Personally, I think the law if full of crap; according to statics the death rate for not wearing a seat belt is about 53 - 60% on average not much difference. Also I prefer to be dead than paralyzed or in a coma for years.

 

[Italian_Touch]

Also I prefer to be dead than paralyzed or in a coma for years.

you can still ask somebody to shoot you in the head...

[it's a joke... just a JOKE!]

 

[maniactickler]

Cell phones are banned in my state unless you wear a headset...

There is legislation in the works to ban drinking and eating while operating the vehicle.....

It will indeed pass eventually...

Thats just plain scary.

 

[venray]

It is scarier to see people complain and whine about their "rights" and "freedoms" every time they dont want to obey a law.....especially where cars and driving are concerned...there are too many drivers on the road who do not pay attention as it is....letting them ignore the rules casuse they dont like them just adds to the mayhem on the road.....

Perfect example: Right turn on red after stop....

Good rule? No one coming so it is OK to turn....

Problem is that almost all drivers ignore the "after stop" part of that rule...

A stop at a red light or stop sing must be a full stop for 3 seconds according to law and then you proceed with caution.....

People just roll right through not giving a crap..... and then they conveniently ignore the "NO TURN ON RED " posted intersections all together...

Rules of the road are there for everyone's safety and are not to be ignored. When you ignore the rules you are infringing upon the RIGHTS of those that obey them by becoming an unsafe driver and a general nuisance...

Perhaps that is why road rage is at an all time high.....

 

[maniactickler]

It is scarier to see people complain and whine about their "rights" and "freedoms" every time they dont want to obey a law.....especially where cars and driving are concerned...there are too many drivers on the road who do not pay attention as it is....letting them ignore the rules casuse they dont like them just adds to the mayhem on the road.....

Perfect example: Right turn on red after stop....

Good rule? No one coming so it is OK to turn....

Problem is that almost all drivers ignore the "after stop" part of that rule...

A stop at a red light or stop sing must be a full stop for 3 seconds according to law and then you proceed with caution.....

People just roll right through not giving a crap..... and then they conveniently ignore the "NO TURN ON RED " posted intersections all together...

Rules of the road are there for everyone's safety and are not to be ignored. When you ignore the rules you are infringing upon the RIGHTS of those that obey them by becoming an unsafe driver and a general nuisance...

Perhaps that is why road rage is at an all time high.....

No need to tell me about that. not obeying rules of the road is my ultimate pet peeve! im one of those people that actually has road rage. a milder version though. id never hurt anyone, but i like to make a statement out there. my favorite is when the other person has a yeild sign yet doesnt yeild to oncoming traffic. this is where i take the opportunity to go right at them as if they arent even there. ive made many cars back right down. its my only satisfaction out there in the jungle.