In Texas we were promised tickets for non-use of seat belts would only be given when someone was pulled over for another offense...promised! Now Texas advertises their Click it or ticket weekends because they usually run their sting on holidays. I'm sure it's a great moneymaker for them. Of course, motorcycle riders don't have to wear helmets but anyone in the front seat has to be buckled up. I find it rather ironic.
About a year before the law passed my son and I agreed to voluntarily wear our seat belts. We had been watching some race on television when there was a really bad crash. When the debris finally came to rest, the only identifiable part left was the cage with the driver sitting in it. He got out and only suffered a broken collarbone. After hearing the announcers point out the importance of the seat belt holding the driver in the cage portion of the car, my son and I decided we'd wear our seat belts.
My son was either 11 or 12 at the time but that wreck made a major impression on him. He buckles up before the car is started and it's automatic now as it is with me. Even during his teen years and whether he was the driver or the passenger, he's always buckled up. He'll be 30 in September.
His Dad on the other hand, has never worn his seat belt. He's now suffering the consequences. After a wreck about 2-3 months ago where he damaged the vertebra in his neck and having had 2 surgeries to stabilize the vertebra, he's having to deal with some loss of use on his right side. As of yet, he's still not able to walk because of the weakness to his side. He spent close to 9 weeks in the hospital.
I don't like the Click it or ticket campaigns even though I see the value in wearing a seat belt.
That's a powerful story.
Two years ago, two of my cousins were in a crash. The unbelted driver suffered scratches and bruises. His brother, belted in, died instantly when his neck was broken. The seatbelt held his body in place, but it didn't stop his head from being severely thrown about. He may have suffered other injuries had he not been buckled up, but it's likely that he would not have died either.
Race cars are designed so that the pieces will break loose from the cage in a smack up. Nobody wants to put that kind of expense into building passenger cars.