Connie, I think it boils down to the idea that many of us here are of the same idea and comon sense. I would imagine thats a good thing if this group ever gets together sometime while we can all still drive ourselves.

 

Quote: "I really feel insulted like they're implying I'm to dumb to make the best decision for myself."
It takes a few seconds to snap a seatbelt into place and provides a proven level of protection from injury, yet some will choose not to buckle up. I can understand why some would consider that "dumb" - not the word I would use, but close enough. No one lives in a vacuum and decisions like the seat belt has an effect on us all. One thread mentions someone getting six or seven tickets before starting to buckle up - while most would pick up on the concept sooner, that is a good example of why enforcement is a good thing. If forcing a tiny minority of the driving public to do by regulation what the majority will do by common sense is insulting, that's OK.
Dono

 

I think it should be a personal decision you pput it on to be safe or keep it off your choice rather its safe or not and they shoudnt be able to tel lus if we should or not it all comes down to money not safety (look at Motorcyvles no helements) and as the firefighters and cops I respect them and am thankfull we know (for the guy who kept sayin it i think we got it the frist 476 times ) and rather you scrape someones body off the road either way you get paid how ever the person died.....Seat belts are dangerous also the can choke and rupture organs brake bones and so on just like air bags they will save faces and life but airbags can snap a persons neck very fast and the smoke they let off in an accidents leaves you baffled not knowing what to do if the cars on fire or not so I say we should be able to do what we want oncerning seat belts its are life and even if its dumb we should ba able to make that desision that being said I usualy put mine on but i forget and so on....so leave me alone ....we can complain about it all we want it changes nothing ( damn yankee's ) just a thought but who am I to say anything (oh yea the guy who pays for all this useless chit and chity laws)

 

i was terrible. i have had ... 7 or 8 seatbelt tickets since i was 17. i haven't had one in over 2 years. it's the concept that i don't like. the fact that i don't have the choice. that choice has been removed from my power, my control. it makes sense to say, well if you do it by common sense, quit griping becuz we're only forcing those who don't to do right. but it doesn't mean i agree with the concept which is what i'm arguing.

who does it affect other than myself?? the guys scraping the streets are affected but they understood the job when they signed on and they don't have to continue with the job. i appreciate them all but it's like my work conceptually. i have to make calls for deaf people, if they're cussing, being racists, making drug deals, planning a murder during that phone call, i can't do anything about it. it's part of the job, i can deal with it, or move on.

who else does it directly affect??? i haven't heard of any case where a non restrained adult, flew thru a window into another car and killed the other person. not to say it hasn't happened, but it's not common enough for it to be heard of too widely.

any wreck is a bad thing. life is not roses and daisy's people. if you're in a wreck with someone, and you see a body flying, it's gonna suck. you're not going to like it. but it will make you say damn glad i'm not in that situation & i'm going to be sure that i make everyone who rides in my cars wear theirs or not go and i will always wear mine. it will promote itself if it's such a wonderful thing.

it's standard equipment, it should be our choice. they should not micromanage our lives. those who require that kind of attention, should stay at home and bother their parents forever since their parents didn't see fit to teach them. i don't go extreme in saying that they should not require children to be restrained becuz children cannot make the decision for themselves and as sad as it is, some parents just don't care enough to do the right thing for their parents and those parents should be forced to take care of their children and the same goes for individuals who do not have the mental capability to make those choices. at the same time i can see where parents would say, it's my kid, my choice but i don't agree that that gives them the right to endanger their child. i think once you're an adult, and you're capable and required to make decisions for yourself, then you are responsible for yourself and your actions.

it's the concept and the fact that it is another way for them to take money out of the public that bothers me.

 

Failing to wear seat belts contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic-related behavior. A driver is 25 times more likely to die in an accident without a seat belt. 40,000 die each year in car accidents and it is estimated that almost half could be prevented by seat belts. This is directly reflected in the insurance rates we all pay, by costs and losses related to accidents and in human tragedy.
Quote: "it's the concept and the fact that it is another way for them to take money out of the public that bothers me." .... Clickit or Ticket would be a total success if every one buckled up and ZERO was taken from the public. Since the program started, child fatalities have dropped 20% and adult seat belt use has risen from 62% to 79%. It appears that often a message to the brain is ignored but a message to the wallet is heeded. Just one more thought on this subject and I'm through.... We on the Texas Forum have disagreements on this subject and we have exchanged viewpoints with courtesy and mutual respect - good job by all sides.
Dono

 

you know whats funny any time they try to prove a point rather it be with Drinkin and drving or teens or seat belts its funny it always " ITS THE WORST TRAFFIC FATALITY CAUSING" BLAH BLAH BLAH who cares if your in a car wreck rather your a teen or wearing a seat belt or not its bad........so quit riding are butt about it already we cant change nothing so sad so sad.......its all an excuse for money ALL of it ..... if it was about safety then we would be wearing helments on a motorcycles

 

" We on the Texas Forum have disagreements on this subject and we have exchanged viewpoints with courtesy and mutual respect - good job by all sides."
Seems there are exceptions to my statement... to be expected I suppose. I will not engage in a battle of wits with someone who appears to be unarmed.
Dono

 

Well I wasent getin personal....its funy people talk alot of trash over the net but in person LOL its another story.......I was sayin we can complain about it but its not gona change any thing I think seat belts have there pro's and con's yes they are safe but people forget to put them on and it realy should be a personal thing... I dont belive safety if the main thing behind the click it or ticket ........I am offering a peace tready because your a Texan........I have plenty of wits I have ford trucks and live in Texas

 

Sorry if I took your post the wrong way... I love to argue with my friends (on-line and in person), but I sometimes respond in the wrong way. I really meant what I said about mutual respect and courtesy on our Texas Forum and I enjoy an exchange of viewpoints... no offence intended or taken.
Dono

 

come to think of it.. i remember this going around the tx forum... that was a while back though ... dang...

i still stand behind the fact no one should micromanage my life but myself in matters such as this where it affects me and my family. by virtue of principle, i'm also supposed to be against forcing parents to make their children wear their belts but as only a human with a mind can do, i believe there are limits to everything, every principle.

it's my body, my life, my responsibility, and if the freedom of this nation is to really hold true to what is supposed to be, it shouldn't continue to find ways to micromanage my life. the cops have so much more important things to do than to peep into my window to see if i'm stupid or not.

 

ford4life69 has it right . We need the govt to be less involved in our lives. Its all about the money. Your local govt could care less about you wearing your seatbelt. It is just an easy way to generate income.

 

Here's the thing. If they didn't have the law, a lot of people, mothers and fathers, would not be wearing their seatbelts (even some of you have said this). If mom and dad don't wear their seatbelt, why should the kid?
NOW, that decission isn't the kid's. It's mom and dad's... Is that fair? Is it fair that a child would have to see mom or dad 50 feet away from the accident before they figured out what the belt was for?
And don't say mom and dad should tell the kid to wear their seatbelt. Even if the kid *does* wear it while mom/dad is around, they won't the second they get into another car. "Pft, mom and dad don't wear it, why should I?"
Or what if mom and dad survive... and the kid doesn't? Who will you blame then? The kid for not knowing any better, because no one told him? The parents for not telling him? Why should they tell their child if they don't think they need to wear it?
But at the end of the day their child is a 15-foot trail of blood behind an unrecognizable mass of bone and flesh...

And if the law had been in place... and if they had gotten their 7 or 8 tickets... and if they had feared getting a ticket... that child may have lived.

You can say you don't want the government controlling your life... but honestly, if you're wearing your seatbelt anyway, how are they controlling you?
If you still can't see how many people would rag on you for not wearing your seatbelt here, you're blind. So even if the law wasn't in place, and you told us (the forum) that you didn't wear your seatbelt--we can't fine you, but it's pretty clear that you'd not hear the end of it until you wore the seatbelt.

 

Hell yes, I 2nd that!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I agree that some people would not wear their belts if the law was not in place. It's their choice though not mine. As I also said, principles can only go so far. Children who are too young to make the decision for themselves, should be protected by the government from parents who are not going to make the right decision for their kids. If the parents wear their belts, the children will see the good habits and wear it for themselves. They'll get those 8 or 10 tickets for not having the children buckled up and they'll make the kids buckle up for fear of getting the ticket which should be up in around 3 or 400 for not protecting your child.

No one should have to ever see that but if that's what it takes to get the point across to one kid, who will grow up and INSIST on their children and their loved ones wearing theirs everytime they get in the car, and those kids passing the habit on to their kids then so be it. The indians didn't have to rediscover how to grind corn into meal to make bread becuz they passed that life lesson on to their children every generation and if there was more communication between parents and kids and more life lessons passed and family's taking care of each other then we wouldn't have to have the govt tell all the rest of the morons out there cuz there wouldn't be this majority of morons out there.

The parents should force their kids to wear a seatbelt and if the parents aren't smart enough to make them, they should get fined heavily by the govt since the kids are not old enough to make the decision themselves. If they get into another car with another adult, then the other adult should be forcing them to wear their belts and if not, they should get the ticket for the other kid and the parent of the kid should get a ticket in a smaller amount for trusting their kid to an adult that will not enforce the child belt law. Parents would reconsider who their children ride with and they would be sure to explicitly instruct their children when going with another adult to wear their belt. They SHOULD do it anyway but some parents just don't care. If they're 16 and got their license, they should still get a ticket for not wearing their belt until they're 18. Then they've had 2 years of driving theirselves with the belts and 16 years of being driven with the belts and hopefully that many watching their parents drive with belts. As for what if the parents survive and the kid doesn't.. fine the parents for not forcing the kid to wear their belt!!!! DUH!!! If the kid grows up, leaves home and drives without a belt and the parents feel guilty when the kid dies and they didn't teach the kid to wear the belt.. they'll become a walking advertisement for seatbelts and encourage others to do the same.

Then they should feel guilty for not teaching their child the right thing to do. Sux that their kid is dead and I wouldn't wish that kind of greif on anyone but they're adults and they KNOW better. And if they don't, the govt already says they have to make their kids wear the belts.

Than wouldn't be an issue if the govt was forcing the kids to wear their belts which if you will read my previous posts.. is what I said. It should agree with my principles that the decision belongs to the parents but principles can only be taken so far. Common sense has the override when sticking solely to the principles leads you to absurdity. That's the part the people don't get and a big part of what I'm trying to say.

They are implimenting small controls in every aspect of our lives. If I don't think I need my seatbelt to drive 3 blocks over to the gas station and back, that's my choice not theirs. If I go on a road trip driving through the mountains and it's long flat endless terrain until I get there, and I want to reach down and put my belt on as I'm getting into some terrain that is not daily for me, then it's my choice. But I don't have that choice and that's what I object to. It is irrelevent whether I do or would wear my belt were the law not in effect. I don't have anyone else to consider in my decision. No children no boyfriend/husband.. no one. That would also have a strong bearing on my decision. But I don't have the decision becuz someone got the bright idea that you could force everyone to do what you want them to do becuz they probly got upset cuz one of their relatives got hurt so this was their solution

I'm not particularly concerned with how many people would rag on me. Unless they have some particular interest in me and my life, then their opinion is of no consequence to me unless they express it in a NON rag on me make fun of me childish way. I love discussion and try to learn something from them but I give no thought to people who just rag on other people regardless of what it concerns. If they can't express their opinion intelligently they aren't as smart as they believe and chances are their opinion isn't so hot anyway. If the people around me who did care, expressed their concern until I felt the only way to get them to stop was to wear the belt, then they're doing what their SUPPOSED to be doing by taking care of their own.. My whole thing is that we should have the choice becuz it's our life not the govt's and if our families and friends influence us to do the right thing, then some dumb sap wouldn't have gotten themself hurt or killed and some dumb family member wouldn't have felt that in order to make themselves feel less guilty for not saying something sooner, they had to make sure the rest of lost our right to choose even if that's not how they thought of it at the time, that's what it amounts to.

 

I never expected this thread to go so far.
My suggestion...lobby your state representative to drop the seat belt laws. When he tells you to jump in a lake, your gonna take it personal. Take that energy and lobby for something more worth fighting for. A seatbelt will save your life before it will take it.
Our schools sytems not recieving the money they are alotted......
The misappropriation of funds......
The endless wave of illegal immigrants......
The abuse of the public assistance programs....

All these issues are worth fighting for......these issues rob you of rights far more than a seatbelt ever could. Pick the good fight.