Seat Belts

[Jesda]

While its true there are going to be stupid people no matter what the law says, it does not mean the law should not be on the books.

That's the most ridiculous reason I've ever heard for the existence of a law. This is the kind of nonsense that permits government to have a hand in everything from the subsidized corn you eat to the volume of water in your toilet.


For 2011: Confiscate all Skylines, for your own good.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Consider for a moment. I drive over the speed limit often. I've had plenty of speeding tickets. I still speed. If they raised the fine for speeding to say, $5000, you can bet your a** I'm gonna stop speeding. Of course, one reason it won't ever get that high is it will likely incite change in how voters change their votes to seek change in the law (legislators would effectively be legislating themselves out of office) and it would cause more people who get fined to fight the ticket. For a case of $5000, a relatively small attorney fee to fight it could be justified. Courts don't want to be overloaded and hopefully legislators would think the same (as a matter of cost to handle an additional burden). That said, one question is what would be the negative aspect of raising the fine for not buckling up? Or put another way, would the potential benefits outweigh the drawbacks?

Either that or the government is trying to maximize profit. The higher the penalty, the lower the volume, as well as throw in the stuff you mentioned. I bet they are right at about max profit right now.

[PEZi]

i think there needs to be more options on this survey... i suppose i fall under "sometimes"

front seat = always

back seat = only when the driver makes me

[alms24sebring]

Always for me, even if its 100 ft. Its a good habit to get into.

Not only are steep fines promoting it, but that mf'ing dam beep, ring, or tone, wont keep going off unless you put your seatbelt on, SO PUT IT ON NOW AND SHUT UP!

..Thanks You.

[TroubleBound]

You should know that in a frontal impact, if you do not have the lap belt on, the top of your body will be restrained, but the bottom will not. As such, the bottom of your body will move forward and you'll basically end up sliding underneath the shoulder strap and could end up somewhat under the dash. Given that significant accidents have a lot of violent forces, I'd prefer to be in the most statistically safe position in an accident. Under the dash is not one of them. And if it doesn't retract well, why not replace it? I'll bet you replace broken parts in your motor and suspension right? Why is this any different?

Eh its just dumb in the S13 how they are 2 belts. I DO want the bottom of my body restrained in the case of an accident but it is really annoying having half auto half manual seat belts. Id probably get some S14 belts before i bothered fixing this one, its so much easier and more comfortable using one belt. Being paralyzed would definitely suck so i guess to counter that i will try to continue not getting into accidents and hope no drunken or elderly fools mess it up for me. A really nasty image that gave me though was getting the key through my kneecap. That'd feel great.

[C-Kwik]

Either that or the government is trying to maximize profit. The higher the penalty, the lower the volume, as well as throw in the stuff you mentioned. I bet they are right at about max profit right now.

If I had my conspiracy theory hat on, I'd probably jump to that conclusion, sure. Its a possibility, but does the NHTSA actually benefit directly (financially) from this? I don;t know how its structured, byut I speculate the NHTSA and the law enforcement systems are too compartmentalized to provide a mechanism for this.

Eh its just dumb in the S13 how they are 2 belts. I DO want the bottom of my body restrained in the case of an accident but it is really annoying having half auto half manual seat belts. Id probably get some S14 belts before i bothered fixing this one, its so much easier and more comfortable using one belt.

No disagreements on how retarded automated shoulder belts are. I had an S13 for a number of years back in the 90's. The irony about the system is that I believe it was conceived with the notion that it would cause more people to use their seatbelts. Not sure about S14 belt compatibility, but IIRC, the Canadian S13 had belts using fixed anchors and I recall some people using them.

Being paralyzed would definitely suck so i guess to counter that i will try to continue not getting into accidents and hope no drunken or elderly fools mess it up for me. A really nasty image that gave me though was getting the key through my kneecap. That'd feel great.

Well considering very few people actually try to get into accidents and they still happen, its probably a very ill-conceived plan you have there. But alas, I'm not trying to be your parent. I can only provide you logical advice and reasoning. The consequences of your actions (or in actions) are yours to bear. But I wish you luck. Not that I believe in luck...

[Gold Digger]

My belt is always on, no matter what car I am in or which seat I am occupying.

My brothers-in-law have a penchant for not wearing them. They only put them on when going through a toll gate on the highway, then take them off after passing through the gate. I rarely let my kids ride with them if I am not in the car also. If they are in their cars, I make sure they have their belts on. I don't need that on my conscience should something happen.

[s13sickboi]

I almost always wear my belt when driving.... somehow doesn't feel right without it...

It mostly depends on what im doing and where were going when im riding with someone or my parents. Like moving the car across the our own property I wont care, taking a load of mulch or something down the street in the truck I wouldn't care either, but if im gonna be weaving thru traffic with jacka$$es on the freeway going 10 below the speed limit yeah you bet ill wear my f<ucking belt!

Nice that my s13 buckles for me (at least cops cant tell if im wearing the bottom belt or not)

Id rather put in some racing seatbelts because a 5 point harness sounds better than a little strap going across your chest...

[Dattebayo]

I rarely let my kids ride with them if I am not in the car also.

Okay, explain this to me:
You don't let your kids ride with them because the driver doesn't belt in? How does this affect their safety again?

[krimsonviper]

I always put on my seatbelt. Force of habit really, even if I know I'm not going anywhere, I instinctively put it on. :

As for raising the fines, I like how the word "think" is used as somewhat of a basis to implement the raise. Where's the statistics that says the implementing of the original fine increased seatbelt use? Until I see this, this is just another way for the gov't to make money from the public without increasing taxes.