Seatbelt law BS or not

[98TURBOKA]

I'm starting this tread to express my feelings about the law that says you have to wear a seatbelt. On Monday I was headed to work just like any other Monday (dazed and confused about what really happened that weekend) when I came upon an intersection that I have driven through thousands of times, only this time there were 2 sheriff officers standing around, giving out tickets for no seatbelts. As normal I didn't have my seatbelt on so the officer flagged me over to the side. He came to my window and went through the normal steps that we all know, and of course came back to my car with a nice little $100 ticket. My complaint about this is why does the state have the right to pass a law that directly violates your right to make a choice that affects only yourself. Think about it how many people are affected by you driving down the street with no seatbelt? The person behind you? NO! The person in front of you? NO! The fact of the matter is the only person this affects is yourself. Thats like the state passing a law saying that if you want you can't go sky diving, bungy jumping, play football, hockey, or even cross the street, because it could potentinaly be dangerous for you. I understand that seatbelts do have the possability of saving lives, but I've also heard of people getting killed because the were trapped in their car by a seatbelt. Bottom line I think that the government is making steps in the wrong direction, and taking our FREEDOM away little by little. What do you think?

[lessthanjakejohn]

where your seatbelt, put an box cutter in your pocket

um i dnot know, that always confuses me also...

but serioulsy wear it...

not to take away from your thread but this is major bull**** also: http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=...soles

[nlzmo400r]

yea, its not worth not having it on when u need it, and TECHNICALLY it could hurt someone else, say u get in a wreck, and u fly out of ur seat and ur head bashes into your passengers, breaking their neck??, see, it could happen, slim to none..i know, but still, i think $1oo is a lil steep anyway

[SmithSR]

seatbelts save lives. my friend flew out of a car window and was killed almost instantly. the car he was riding in rolled, suffered great damage, but the roof was not crumpled. My point is that if he was buckled in, he would have gone for one hell of a ride, been banged up pretty bad, and very likely, he would be here to drink beers with me. he's not.

to argue that seatbelts in some instances have been at fault for trapping an occupant is not very accurate. this number is very low when used as a national average. to be trapped by your seatbelt and die is the extreme exeption, not the rule.

the number of severe accidents that occupants *could have* walked away from if only they had worn their seatbelts, according to experts, far outweighs the number of freak seatbelt malfunctions.

[Dano]

Click it or ticket...i always click it so i have no thoughts on this, although i do believe ppl should have the right to choose, but i also think ppl should have common sense enough to wear a small threaded belt around their waste/chest that could potentially keep their brains INSIDE their own head instead of drying out on the hood of a car....

-Dan

[Rockenreno]

I'm kinda curious about these new "Click it or ticket" ads. Not wearing your seatbelt has been a ticketable offense for as long as I can remember, has something about the law changed? I know people who have been ticketed for no seatbelt over the last few years.

Oh, and in regards to 98TURBOKA, really the law shouldn't matter. You should wear your seatbelt. What are the drawbacks of it? I don't even notice it when I wear it, and it can save your life. There is no reason I can think of to not wear it...

[Nathan]

Here's another case for how not wearing a seatbelt could hurt others: Say you are driving down the highway and you get rearended by someone going 40mph faster than you (It IS possible)...you drive a S13 so you dont have airbags, if your not wearing a seatbelt your head smashes into the steering wheel and knocks you out. Since you are knocked out you loose complete control over your vehicle and instead of immediately slowing down, you careen into a suburban and kill 8 kids on the way to soccer practice. If you had been wearing your seatbelt you would have remained concious and able to avoid further collisions. Now is this scenario far fetched? YES...but it is also entirely possible.

[Anand]

sometimes we don't know something that is good for us and we need to be told by someone... hint hint... wearing a seatbelt is good for yourself... and the gov knows that unless they pass a law, a lot of people won't do it. THey are looking out for your safety, which is needed sometimes...

[AZhitman]

Some other reasons that HAVE NOT been mentioned:

1) How much control of your car do you think you have in an evasive maneuver w/o being restrained? Sure, there are some tough guys who think they can hold their body in place during an emergency, but they've been proven wrong time and time and time again. The only way to adequately control your vehicle is to be restrained.

2) This applies not only for the emergency maneuver, but also for the secondary control AFTER your car is hit but is still moving. If you are broadsided going through an intersection with a belt on, you still have some semblance of control. Without it, you're in the passenger seat (or ejected) and your car is a one-ton missle with no guidance. Pray it doesn't hit me or my car.

3) Finally, what about the person who is unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident with you. Regardless of WHO is at fault, and you are seriously injured, paralyzed or killed, that person has to live with that knowledge for the rest of their life. Some would say, "So what", but that just shows a callous disregard for your fellow man.

4) If it wasn't a good idea, there would be race car drivers refusing to buckle up. And I can't think of ONE who wouldn't, regardless of rules or laws.

Buckle up - We need all the NICO members we can get.

[98TURBOKA]

I'm by no means saying that a seat belt should not be used at all times, nor am I denying that fact that in certain situations that it could save your life, all that I'm saying is it is a choice that should be yours to make and not have a law telling you to make it. So if your a smoker and they pass a state law telling you that you can't smoke anymore, how would that make you feel. That's a law that I think would be just, because second hand smoke bothers people that choice not to smoke. That is a choice that one person makes that will affect others.

[AZhitman]

That is a choice that one person makes that will affect others.

And I just gave you several reasons how a person's choice to not wear a seat belt may affect others as well.

I'm all about personal freedoms, but that's really pushing it.

[SmithSR]

I'm with Hitman on this, especially his point number 4. Would you race without seatbelts/safety restraints?

[slw240sx]

i need to goto nissan and get my seatbelts working again. makes me wonder if they would even work if i was hit !

[LaureltheQueen]

Driving is not a right, its a priveledge, the government has set rules that we have to abide by, or we are fined, or our priviledge is taken away. Thats how it goes.

[GrEy240SX]

Some other reasons that HAVE NOT been mentioned:

1) How much control of your car do you think you have in an evasive maneuver w/o being restrained? Sure, there are some tough guys who think they can hold their body in place during an emergency, but they've been proven wrong time and time and time again. The only way to adequately control your vehicle is to be restrained.

2) This applies not only for the emergency maneuver, but also for the secondary control AFTER your car is hit but is still moving. If you are broadsided going through an intersection with a belt on, you still have some semblance of control. Without it, you're in the passenger seat (or ejected) and your car is a one-ton missle with no guidance. Pray it doesn't hit me or my car.

3) Finally, what about the person who is unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident with you. Regardless of WHO is at fault, and you are seriously injured, paralyzed or killed, that person has to live with that knowledge for the rest of their life. Some would say, "So what", but that just shows a callous disregard for your fellow man.

4) If it wasn't a good idea, there would be race car drivers refusing to buckle up. And I can't think of ONE who wouldn't, regardless of rules or laws.

Buckle up - We need all the NICO members we can get.

My opinions exactly...

[1dollar240]

SmithSR and AZhitman said it best. Not only can it save your life, but it can save your fellow drivers. Also, why do people always assume that driving is a natural born right. It's not. You don't want to play by the rules? then don't drive.

[Tai Mai Shu]

Seems like some people were restrained when they were young and want to be rebels...Just put it on, its natural for me now. Its not restraining your "rights" that just the way people get by these stupid lawsuits that are a waste of the taxpayers money. If it was something like you can talk about what you want in peace then I see your point...Someone has to look out for you, and the people around you.

[MasterMan]

u have to wear your seat belt, but in this state u can ride a motorcycle with no helmet.. wtf is going on?! some laws are just retarted.. i can see it make a law stating that u have to buckel up your kids, but come on, why make it for yourself. .if u wanna die then go ahead dont wear your seatbelt...

[[Zero-S]]

Masterman...those pills look strikingly familiar...kind of like...fioricet?? And haha my seatbelts work too well...I can't take too sharp of turns or they will lock. Seatbelts save lives...if you haven't realized that yet, you shouldn't really be on the road IMO. I get on my brother all the time about his seatbelt, because I swear I will beat his *** in front of the cop if he causes me to get a ticket (good thing the S13s have automatic seatbelts)

[96_S14_SE]

I saw a nico badged Q with a child unrestrained (didnt look like it as the child had her hands on the window sill and head out the window slightly, possibly kneeling on the seat), in the front pass seat, in I-4 stop and go traffic, about a month mabey 2 ago.... I wasnt going to say anything, and didnt till this thread came up. It always bothers me to see this, but to see a nico stickered car in this manner, kinda stuck out very much so. If someone feels Im mistaken, I might be but thats what I saw and thought at the time.

Any way... I always wear my belt and always will. In fact, since I started auto-x'ing Ive been engaging the belt lock at every event... I have been doing this in my vehicle on the street for about 3 months now as well. Before I leave I slide the seat all the way back (always needed the seat 100% back but found more controll through doing this at 1 - 2 stops from full back). I buckle first and then lean out of the belt to the left. I give it a few quick tugs untill I get the shortest possible lock, then I squeeze in. One or two clicks forward on the seat rail and Im 100% snug, both down and back. Sometimes I engage it pre buckling and force it to lock, but this way is harder and fails to work evrytime.

While driving like this I have 0 need to brace myself on any corners, now matter how fast or tight. When the florida roads turn to **** like they always do Im also more firmly planted and dont get jostled like I used to with my modified suspension. I have more controll over the vehicle in all situations as well and have no need to think about sliding in the seat, so I can focus more attention to what Im doing...

Now I have always work my seatbelt and has saved from any injury in my first car, 91' fastback, when I nailed a massive pine tree dead center head on at 45mph....

I also go a steap further and if anyone is not buckled in my car I do leave. Every one that has ridden with me knows this, and its the first thing I say to my lil brother and sisters friends when I drive them home. Its not so much thier safety as mine as If I wreck and get my skull caved in by some unbuckled fool in the back seat, well lets just hope I die or am vegetablized, as all hell will break loose after I recover if not. Same thing will also go for someone who flies out of thier vehicle into mine because they are a ****tard.

I also buckle up in any car in any seating possition, and was the only one to always buckle up in the back and front of the rented minivan on my last trip to maine a summer or two ago.

Not only that but anything in the passenger compartment will also get tied down as well. Every auto-x my gf's chair goes in the trunk (i completely rebuilt my amp rack to shorten it 3-4" so that I could place the seat in the trunk vs the back seat!!), the camera bag and helmet go in the backseat and are seccured down with the belt as well. I dont take any chances as anything can be turned into a head splitting projectile in a split second...

But thats just me, do as you wish with yourself as long as others dont have to deal with your actions. As we all know, paramedics love cleaning up the bloody carcases off of the raods or anywhere they may land, of retards who feel seatbelts are a restriction, when the unavoidable happens....

[U12 2NR]

Through out the country seat belt laws will be STRICTLY enforced starting this week. Hence all the 'click it or ticket' ads. I suggest you wear your belt or you'll pay money that you could be putting into modifications.

On another note, forget the emotional stuff involved with getting hurt in an accident. If i'm an insurance company, i sure as hell don't want to spend more than I have to on you. Meaning if you wear your belt and you get in an accident, your injuries will be less severe, cheaper.

[89240sx]

I heard about this on the radio before monday so i was safe as far as tickets ... and also i leave my auto seatbelts hooked up so they are on no matter what.

sorry about the ticket man but there's nothing you can do but pay it now and click it next time...

the only other option you may have is to write your congressman but i doubt that will make any difference

just my 2 cents

Mark

[89240sx]

btw 1dollar240 , your pic of your 240 is identical to mine almost .. check it out

http://www.cardomain.com/id/silver89240sx

Mark

[lessthanjakejohn]

make sure to bput the bottom belt on!

[[Zero-S]]

Just remember to hook up your lap belt too. I've heard of stories of people getting decapitated by those auto belts because they slid right out from under them in bad accidents. Ouch.

[89240sx]

really?? thats kinda scarey

=\

[lessthanjakejohn]

well itll sure make you think to put your belt on

I use to never put the lap belt on in my dad's accord but i do all the time now...

[89240sx]

Thanks for the tip .. I'll definately click it now

[nismokid]

i dont think 98TURBOKA is saying that wearing a seatbelt can be a bad thing. the point he is getting at is the laws being too invasive on your personal preference. Now it's just the preference of wether or not to wear your seatbelt in your own car while you are driving but maybe someday these laws getting too invasive into your personal life and little by little we are going to live in a society where laws govern every little thing you do by telling you how to do them. (i.e. Big Brother from the book 1984). is that the point you're trying to make 98TURBOKA??????

[nissanrcer240]

thank god for auto seatbelts so i dont have to worry about clickin it:)