[Elizabeth]

I read all the time about how sad and terrible so and so died in crash. The problem to me is the person(s) who died were not wearing a seatbelt. (and probably would have lived if they HAD been wearing one)
So they themselves decided to risk their life. And why then, are whomever else involved, charged with manslaughter?
The drunken fool causing the crash did not take off the idiot's seatbelt. the victim did that himself.
The 16 year old driving a SUV full of friends managed to kill one of them but the blame is on the person pulling out of a driveway. Not that the idiot driving was too inexperienced to first drive at the speed limit. Watch what he was doing instead of to his friends,  make his idiot friends wear seatbelts, and finally know how to handle the 'safe' SUV. The kid panicked, drove headon into the oncoming truck, causing the crash, friends ALL thrown from vehicle with several near death and one died. But the media says it is all the fault of the person pulling out of a driveway. Yeah right.

GO ahead... whine at me.... Your freedom to kill yourself/ leave open way more likely to die.. is always your right...
To me, a fair law would be if wearing a sealtbelt as max penalty. The death or severe injury from NOT wearing is only the fault of the idiot not wearing the seatbelt 100%.
(I can hear the howls now....)
Added: and even liability claims.. Insurance companies should not have to pay out for any additional harm caused by not wearing a seatbelt. The fools own insurance would have to pay under the self inflicted harm clause under mental health coverage mandated by the government for 'self inflicted harm'.

[jaywills]

It was this ad, seen many years ago, that got me to wear my seatbelt regularly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpTbHUT8FTk

Funny how the little things affect you.

[WGH]

But what if you are not killed in an accident? Your loved ones might have to take care of you for the rest of your life because of your selfishness.

I was only 18 years old when I lost complete control on a patch of black ice and the wind blew me into the path of an oncoming car, which I hit head on. I was wearing a seat belt and survived to type this reply 52 years later.

[mcgsxr]

Late 40's here.  Never driven a car more than a block without a seatbelt on.  Totally don't get why people would not wear one.

Used to feel odd in the T Bird because it only had lap belts.  Had a cop pull up next to me once and ask - wearing a belt?  Yup I said, but only a lap belt.  No issues.

OK, there were a few times in high school where we snuck people into the "drive in movies" in the trunk of my car, but that's on private property and 10mph.

Just put it on.

[OzarkTom]

For over 16 years my wife refused to put it on. Then a friend of hers had a serious wreck without her seat belt. Her friend was not covered by her medical insurance. She had to pay the medical bill out of her own pocket. Wife still refuses to put it on at times. Talking about a stubborn woman.

[ErikMi]

It took years for the media to openly discuss that Princess Diana died because of no seatbelt. I always see pictures of people in Limo's or busses with no belts on. I 100% agree with the OP.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Being an ER doctor for 32 years, I have seen my share of people hurt and many died because they were not wearing their seat belt.  I still occasionally see people who don't wear their belts because they know of some one who was told by a police officer or paramedic that if they were wearing their seat belt they would have died.  Of course, they did not see the 2 young girls that I had that were thrown through the windshield and their brains were coming out of their heads!

[timind]

Back in the 80s the USAF adopted a strict seatbelt policy. If a person was injured in an accident while unbuckled, the hospital bills weren't covered. I don't know how closely this was enforced, but I've worn my seatbelt ever since.

[rollo]

Stupid is as stupid does. Wear your sea tbelt and live longer.


charles

[OzarkTom]

Stupid is as stupid does. Wear your sea tbelt and live longer.


charles

Famous Forest Gump quote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tldGgGFe194

[ClefChef]

I would add wearing a helmet on the motorcycle to this list. South Carolina, for example, has no helmet requirement so lots of skids result in bashed sculls there.

[Emil]

I would add wearing a helmet on the motorcycle to this list. South Carolina, for example, has no helmet requirement so lots of skids result in bashed sculls there.

That's fine with me. Just make sure they check "organ donor" on their license
.

[thunderbrick]

In the '70s I lost control of my convertible (top down) on a slick road.  Into a ditch, out again across the road narrowly missing getting t-boned by a bus, into THAT ditch before I stopped.

Too busy fighting the steering wheel to be scared, but that lap belt kept me in the car and somewhat under control.    Have had two co-workers die in separate, moderate speed accidents because they wouldn't wear their seat belts.  I always do.

Interesting to me that my "pro-life" state legislature has just waived the helmet law for adult bikers.  WTF?

[S Clark]

I've always worn a seat belt.  I've always worn a full face helmet when riding.  I do enough dumb things accidentally to add to them intentionally. 

[Emil]

Interesting to me that my "pro-life" state legislature has just waived the helmet law for adult bikers.  WTF?

Seems your state is pro choice when it comes to helmets

[rollo]

Seems your state is pro choice when it comes to helmets

  BILLIANT!!!!

[audioengr]

Some people are just idiots, maybe up to 30% of the population.  With the disgusting law-breaking role model we have now, it's a wonder that it's not the wild west everywhere.  I personally always wear the seatbelt and drive defensively at the speed limit except on highways where I do 4-5 over just to minimize the road rage. Never use the cell phone while driving.  All of this is illegal here.  Many years ago I rolled my BMW on black ice and came out without a scratch because of the seat belt.

[Photon46]

Some people are just idiots, maybe up to 30% of the population. 

In all seriousness, a look at the bell curve of IQ's in the US gives one pause. 15.9% of the population has mental capacity of borderline mental retardation or worse. This is a seriously large part of the population that's ill equipped to handle the mental challenges of modern life.

[audioengr]

In all seriousness, a look at the bell curve of IQ's in the US gives one pause. 15.9% of the population has mental capacity of borderline mental retardation or worse. This is a seriously large part of the population that's ill equipped to handle the mental challenges of modern life.

Wow, that's disturbing.  Last night on the news they had a piece on one state that was spending a lot on educating illiterate adults.  It was making a huge difference and many of their past "graduates" had gone on to hold positions in government and other important roles as well as higher education.  The current administration of course cut that federal funding by 25%.  Really smart.

Being the developed country we say we are, this is really third-world performance. Our reading and math literacy tell it all.  Compared to other developed countries, we are way down the list.  We should be #1 or #2.  A lot of smart people in Singapore.

[S Clark]

The average Chinese is concerned with jobs, education for their kids, and healthcare, all of which are largely controlled by the government... and they really don't care about"personal freedom" unless the government behaves egregiously.   They will dominate the world in 25 years.