View Poll Results: I wear my seat belt:
All the time. I buckle up EVERY time I drive.
89
64.96%
Most of the time. More often than not I buckle up.
33
24.09%
Occasionally. I usually don't strap in, but will on occasion.
8
5.84%
Never. Seat Belt? I don't need no stinkin' seat belt!
7
5.11%
Voters: 137. You may not vote on this poll
Seat belt usage
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 758
Likes: 0
From: Northern PA
People will always find reasons not to use seat belts. In the majority of cases, they do work, and they do prevent injury. For every 1 that says they might have been killed if they had seat belts on, I can probably find 10 who weren't seriously injured because they were wearing them. Sometimes, it's just a toss of the dice, life is like that.
In the rollovers and ejections we see in our trauma center, not many escape without serious injury, or aren't killed outright, because they weren't belted in. I can't count the number of nasty scalp lacerations and facially mangling injuries we see that wouldn't have happened if they just had the good sense to buckle up.
I see a day coming when insurance companies may refuse to cover injuries or damages if you aren't wearing your seat belts. It's all about loss control, and they make the rules. As for seat belt laws, the gov't. figures they need to protect us from ourselves, since many people didn't seem to feel the need to buckle up on their own.
Wear 'em or not, it's up to each person to decide that. You pays yer money, you takes yer chances.
In the rollovers and ejections we see in our trauma center, not many escape without serious injury, or aren't killed outright, because they weren't belted in. I can't count the number of nasty scalp lacerations and facially mangling injuries we see that wouldn't have happened if they just had the good sense to buckle up.
I see a day coming when insurance companies may refuse to cover injuries or damages if you aren't wearing your seat belts. It's all about loss control, and they make the rules. As for seat belt laws, the gov't. figures they need to protect us from ourselves, since many people didn't seem to feel the need to buckle up on their own.
Wear 'em or not, it's up to each person to decide that. You pays yer money, you takes yer chances.
New User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: OK
I've worn mine ever since the Air Force gave me a safety demonstration in a rig they had set up. It was a bench seat that rolled down a shallow ramp about 5 feet and came to an abrupt stop. Without the seatbelt, you kept going when the seat stopped! I remember going back and buying those seat belt kits because my older car didn't have any seat belts.
Incidentally, in OK the police can stop you for not wearing a seat belt. They advertised that the highway patrol will focus specifically on seat belt use in pickup trucks the next couple of weeks, because of the high number of rollover accidents that involve pickups. Seems every day they have another rollover accident where the vehicle survived, but the driver was crushed by the vehicle as it rolled over him after he was tossed out.
Incidentally, in OK the police can stop you for not wearing a seat belt. They advertised that the highway patrol will focus specifically on seat belt use in pickup trucks the next couple of weeks, because of the high number of rollover accidents that involve pickups. Seems every day they have another rollover accident where the vehicle survived, but the driver was crushed by the vehicle as it rolled over him after he was tossed out.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 938
Likes: 1
From: North Carolina
ON EDIT: In a rollover crash you will be killed without a seatbelt. I have heard so many times about people that rolled there car and got beheaded or dismemebered becasue they came out of the vechile, then got crushed by the rolling vehicle.
Freshman User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
From: Knoxville, TN.
What is the number one benefit of the driver using a seatbelt??? Pause for a while...
Hint, how often does an accident happen, versus the time spent not having an accident.
Answer: to help the driver to maintain control of the vehicle, To Avoid Having An Accident.
If the driver is sliding around in an emergency situation, then an accident is much more likely.
I had heard this, and about fifteen years ago I started delivering mail sitting offset between the seats. It is much harder to drive(NOT SLOW) when you are sliding side to side.
Seatbelts make a driver a better driver!
Good thread,
Don W
Hint, how often does an accident happen, versus the time spent not having an accident.
Answer: to help the driver to maintain control of the vehicle, To Avoid Having An Accident.
If the driver is sliding around in an emergency situation, then an accident is much more likely.
I had heard this, and about fifteen years ago I started delivering mail sitting offset between the seats. It is much harder to drive(NOT SLOW) when you are sliding side to side.
Seatbelts make a driver a better driver!
Good thread,
Don W
Senior User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 495
Likes: 0
From: Bryan Texas
hey im honest, i do mos of the time since i throw papers and drop parcels i dont wear on on route because every 1 to 2 minute's i have to get out , but thats at 3.00 oclock in the morning not that much trafiic in texas if you have a job that requires you to exit the vechile constanly you dont have to wear it( paper , mailmen etc} but i still have know carriers that have gotten the $125 dollar ticket .
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 125
Likes: 0
I wear mine because it's a good idea but I think the law is rediculous. You could make a better argument for banning motorcycles than mandating belt usage. Driving a car without a belt is not as dangerous and never will be as dangerous as riding a non-enclosed 2 wheeled bike. Or a snowmobile or ATV for that matter.
They should spend their time looking for drunks rather than people without their seatbelts on. They are by far the leading cause of traffic fatailities. And it isn't only the responsible party that dies in that case.
They should spend their time looking for drunks rather than people without their seatbelts on. They are by far the leading cause of traffic fatailities. And it isn't only the responsible party that dies in that case.
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Senior User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 156
Likes: 0
From: orygun
I wear mine all the time, well for the last 12 years or so. A couple of reasons in no particular order.....
--my company requires seatbelt use in company vehicles (suspension w/o pay if u get a ticket)
--90 to 105 dollar ticket around here
--people with cell phones on the road scare the hell out of me
--got into an accident when i was 16...wasn't wearin a seatbelt....ate the steering wheel and crunched my head off the windshield....oral surgury in the ER hurt a lot....wised me up...don't want it to happen again
--wife's a nurse....hear too many stories from her
--it's a smart move IMHO
--my company requires seatbelt use in company vehicles (suspension w/o pay if u get a ticket)
--90 to 105 dollar ticket around here
--people with cell phones on the road scare the hell out of me
--got into an accident when i was 16...wasn't wearin a seatbelt....ate the steering wheel and crunched my head off the windshield....oral surgury in the ER hurt a lot....wised me up...don't want it to happen again
--wife's a nurse....hear too many stories from her
--it's a smart move IMHO
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 867
Likes: 0
From: Fairbanks, Alaska
I always wear my seat belt as well...and as soon as I can figure out how to put a full roll cage in an Excursion, that will be a consideration also!!
Nothing like using your drivers door as a hatch to make you appreciate being securely belted in!
Nothing like using your drivers door as a hatch to make you appreciate being securely belted in!
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 952
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
everytime i hop in the truck it's like one fluent motion, in the seat belt is buckled, key is turned, don't even think about it, even if i'm moving it across the parking lot, i buckle up everytime without even thinking about it, just a habit, not a bad habit to have either.
SAFETY FIRST
SAFETY FIRST
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,493
Likes: 2,809
OK, reaching into the Wayback machine. I was in a Ford dealer in about '71 give or take a year. There sat the object of desire for many of us, a 1969 Mach I. Ooops, looks like he hit something. Bumper, hood, but no fender damage. Oh, gee, he windshield is busted...from the inside, in the center...Hey, look inside, there are long blond hairs hanging from the glass inside the car...
So much for having your girlfriend sit on the console so she can be near you when you're out cruising.....
So much for having your girlfriend sit on the console so she can be near you when you're out cruising.....
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,557
Likes: 2
From: Texas
Originally Posted by vman
I srarted wearing mine when the law went into effect.With all the advancements in automotive technology, you would think they could make them more comfortable. I don't like them tightening up on every bump and cutting into my neck. I really hate when I get pulled over in my 68 camaro just so they can see if I have it on.I've thought about painting a shoulder belt on my chest.Does anybody know if they can cite someone driving a really old car that doesn't have belts?
I used to drive a 64 Pontiac and it was originally equipt with lap belts. I removed them because after 30 plus years, they were not safe enough to wear. I recieved a citation shortly after the law passed. Upon doing the research (Texas), I found that unless the belts were 'standard equipment' when new, you did not have to wear them. I fought the ticket and won.
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