Yep, I broke a rib on the seatbelt when a car hit me. But I still think it's a good idea to wear them. A friend of mine rolled her car and broke a lot of bones-- but thankfully, she came to, hanging upside down in her seatbelt, or she might have broken her neck or crushed her skull.
My seventeen year old got a ticket this summer for speeding.
He is a good kid and never causes us grief. I said a
prayer for the policeman who gave him a ticket. My son
paid the $ and I thought if it keeps him from getting in
an accident, it was well worth it. I’ve driven for
forty years without getting a ticket, but I know guys
like speed.
In my 20 yrs of being a military cop, every wreck I responded to overseas where a person had a seatbelt on, survived....even one with nothing in front of her steering wheel except for a 500 yr old olive tree, engine block gone. Ones that didn’t have it on, not so much. Good enough for me..and my kids will loudly tell anyone that gets in that doesn’t strap in...”seatbelt”...lol. Maybe people can be “stupid” if they want, but when it affects my insurance or medical rates, or paying public benefits out to people that can’t work now because they’re too injured to support their family, I think it is my business. My thoughts on that subject...
If you don’t want to wear a seatbelt, please sign a statement saying you release any public assistance to your family in the event of your incapacitation...do us all a favor. Maybe a little harsh, but people need to take responsibility for their decisions, in my humble opinion.
I am actually one of the rare statistics that survived a wreck because I was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown clear during an accident. But there was probably a bit of a guardian angel in that situation too.