broken clock story. While I absolutely believe the man’s story, it serves as propaganda for this entire seat-belt-as-a-ticketable-offense thing. What about the folks who suffer gut/abdomen injuries/fatalities in wrecks they otherwise might expect little injury? Will we be seeing stories about how someone buckled up due to a ticket, etc?
THREAD BUMP.
Thanks for posting this Uncle Hambone.
Port St. Lucie-doesn’t Rush live there?
But my argument against the state forcing citizens to protect themselves is an overreach of power, IMHO, and opens the door for the banning of much personal behavior and hence impinges on individual rights.
I used to work for the Highway department. I got T-boned in my pickup by a Semi-truck on the interstate. I broke 7 ribs on my left side...and had a crushed pelvis on my right due to my seatbelt. However, If I wasn’t wearing that seatbelt, I’d have been killed.
“Thank you, sir! May I have another?”
I never wear a seat belt. I find that it wrinkles my shirts. Plus I have airbags. If I ever was in a rollover, I’d just brace my legs against the seat and hold the wheel tight so I don’t move.
It’s just anecdotal, but I would probably have been either killed or paralyzed back in the 80s when I slid off a road from black ice, were it not for putting on my seat belt about a minute before that accident (AFTER I left the apartment - I didn’t even regularly wear it back then).
After going into the ditch and flipping a couple times, the car ended up back in the middle of the road on its passenger’s side, with me hanging from my seat belt. I LOVE seat belt bruises! Since then, I literally will not even back out of the garage without a seat belt on.
Put your seat belt on - The airbag will wipe you out if you aren’t wearing it.
Saved by the seatbelt here. Always wear one now without fail and everyone in the car has to as well. No negotiation.
I was saved by a seat belt when I was 21 years old. I made a dumb move and veered off the road trying to avoid 3 deer standing in the middle of the road. My convertible flipped and it was turned into an upside down sled. Windshield was smashed into the steering wheel. The convertible top was torn off and the top of the drivers seat was torn from being scraped in the dirt. My hair was dirty but I was not harmed. Not even a scratch. I was hanging in my seat upside down by my seat belt.
Indeed, if we follow that logic then we should STOP wearing our seatbelts when the next anecdotal story is published about a miraculous escape from death because the driver was NOT belted.
She was returning the next day from a trip and I stopped by her house to stock some perishable breakfast items for her so she didn't have to worry about getting out to the supermarket immediately upon her return. She had told the (small) town police department that she was going to be away but didn't include my license plate on her list of vehicles that might be at the house.
I was happy that the town police had included her house on their "close inspection" rounds.
Woopty f*ckin Doo!
I have a friend whose life was saved because he did not have a seat belt on.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that seatbelts and motorcycle helmets are a good idea. This is the kind of guy who would learn bomb disposal by the trial and error method-sometimes you just have to use your brain.
That being said, it's not the state's business.
Truly ridiculous story: Back in the early 90s, a buddy of mine had his VW bug run into in a parking lot. He wasn't in the car, he was in the store shopping. The first thing the insurance company asked was if he was wearing a seat belt. The only way to answer was "yes" or "no". He said no, they tried to raise his rates because of it.
What I’m curious about is where in the freaken constitution does it give the gub mint any power to force seat belt use?
All they have to say is "I could not tell the person was wearing the belt" once you are stopped they can initiate any search they chose.