http://ahsoon.net/2006/09/01/no-seatbelt-no-excuse/
a russian commercial that is really really good.
Wile I think seat belts are good, as a libertarian, it’s my job to convince you that you should wear one. Besides, how does giving the gubamint money in a “fine” help? It’s the nanny state telling you that you’re to dumb to know what is good for you. Bad decisions allow people to learn. imho
I’ve been wearing my seat belt since I was in injineering school and we did some exercises around the static and dynamic forces. I even had belts put in my cars, before they were required. That tells you how old I am! Never have needed it, but like a gun, never want to need a seat belt and not have it.
Bottom line, they are a great idea.
As far as being trapped, one should have one of those handy dandy class breaker / seat belt cutters handy. (I do.) And, a fire extinguisher. (I used to. Got to use it once. Hmmm.)
But, even if seat belts are the best idea in the world, (and they are right up there), I want you to be convinced, not forced.
When we do things we want to do because we see the merit, then we’ll do them far more often than if some one is “making” you do. I use a teenagers room as anecdotal evidence. I”m sure some college professor has a study to back that up.
And, when the gubamint gets involved, it costs lots of money (i.e., ticket or click it campaign), permanently infringes on our rights, steals from us our time, money, and attention, sends people to jail, and ultimately kills someone.
Maybe instead of seat belt laws, those mythical kids in the commercial might have seen this video on MTV, and made a better decision. The imaginary young girl might have something sexy to the imaginary young boy like “seat belts remind me of bondage” and he’d have had three belts on. At the very least, they would be belting up freely, with greater “compliance” than any law could hope to accomplish, and in the imaginary boy’s case with greater enthusiasm.
So in the extreme, it goes like this, the gubamint says do it to save your life, and if you don’t we’ll kill you.
Seat belts — great idea. Gubamint mandating them — bad idea!
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UPDATE: I remember reading that seat belt compliance was higher in NH where there’s no law than in MA where there is one.
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Reinke Faces Life 
>In the end wearing a seatbelt is your choice, and I hope you make the right one.
No, it’s NOT my choice.
Your gooferment thugs will come and use force on me if I don’t.
See there are two things you are missing.
(1) Every decision about seat belts is a tradeoff.
Let’s posit that being flung from a car in an accident is a 999-1 outcome. 999 times out of thousand, you die. But every 1 time out of that thousand, you land in a trampoline. (I don’t know whatever.) Let’s posit that being trapped by a seatbelt is a 999-1 outcome. 999 times, you escape and 1 time you’re trapped.
Let’s also posit that there is a class of accidents that you die no matter what you do. Let’s also posit that there is a class of accidents that you survive no matter what you do. These do nothing but pad the statistics and obscure the truth.
Who are you to tell me that I should be doing? What side of the bet I should be taking?
(2) Every time the gooferment passes laws, there is a gun in the room. You have to explain why giving the gooferment money some how compensates for my loss of liberty?
If an idea is so compelling, then people will do it out of self-interest. No law is necessary.
Explain why in Massachusetts, with a draconian seatbelt law, compliance is lower than New Hampshire, where there is no law?
NO, seat belt laws are about control. The gooferment does it for teaching its subjects about control. It has NOTHING to do with safety.
Sorry, I respectfully disagree,
fjohn
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Courtney Rubright
Periods 4-5
October 06, 2008
Wearing a Seatbelt
Every fifteen seconds someone is injured in a vehicle accident. This person could be you. Although many people think that they will never be involved in an accident that is not true. It cannot be guaranteed that you will be in a vehicle crash either, but why risk it? Why risk never seeing the ones you love and who love you when all you have to do is wear a seatbelt?
There are various reasons you should wear a seatbelt. One reason is that, wearing a seatbelt is a federal and state law in Pennsylvania. Though many people ignore this law, if caught you could face up to a 100-dollar fee, depending on the age of the unbuckled person. If you do not pay that amount in the time given it could become a larger amount.
Another reason to wear your seatbelt is that seatbelts save an estimated 9,500 lives each year in the United States alone. Forty thousand people die in vehicle accidents each year and seatbelts can reduce around half of those deaths. That is an estimated 20,000 people who can be saved for doing one simple thing: buckling up.
Despite the many reasons for wearing seatbelts, there are some people who have come up with reasons why not to wear a seatbelt. Some say that they have airbags that will save them. However, it has been proved that airbags are only 12 percent effective at reducing deaths if the people in the car do not have seatbelts on.
Others will say,” I am an excellent driver, and I will never get into a car crash.” It might be true that the people who say this are excellent driver, that does not always matter. Car accidents can be caused by other drivers who are not paying attention and that are not excellent drivers.
Another commonly heard excuse is that the driver is only driving a short distance. Most accidents happen within five miles of the driver’s home. It’s proven that the distance you are traveling does not matter; you are always at risk.
An additional reason that people cite for not wearing seatbelts is because they will be able to brace themselves if they are in an accident. Trying to brace yourself is actually not a good idea. The arm or leg you brace yourself with will most likely shatter and not help keep you safe.
One other reason that many say they do not buckle up is that they are afraid the seatbelt will trap them in the car. In most cases, it is best to stay inside your vehicle. If you are flung from the car you are twenty-five times more likely to die and very few accidents involve being submerged under water or involve fire. If there were a fire and you did not have a seatbelt on, you would most likely be knocked unconscious and unable to get out safely, so wearing a seat belt really is the best bet.
Facts have been given about seatbelts and how many lives they have saved. Arguments on why not to wear a seatbelt have been disproved. Reasons have been given on why not wearing a seatbelt can affect more than your life, and how much it would hurt the ones who care for you if something were to happen to you in a vehicle accident-which you possibly could have prevented. Many facts have been proven in hopes to get you to wear a seatbelt. In the end wearing a seatbelt is your choice, and I hope you make the right one.
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I agree with you 100% Oh and guess who is lurking in the background pushing the Grubbermint to impose these very safe for our own good laws…..insurance companies….Why. Hmmmmmm. See there are already policys and restrictions in place that IF you are breaking the law during a covered Claim….(ie acseethe Dent) They do not have to pay your Claim. Well guess where This is leading. Oh….you or any passenger in your car were not wearing a seat belt…..you were breaking the law…..sorry all claims are invalid. Because you know the insurance companies are soooooo poor they cant pay all these silly claims. They sit in their tiny low rent office useing candles……..if they were makeing any money….they would have big old high rize buildings in the big cities….
just like isn’t it amazing…..used to be responsible people had insurance…..idiots took a chance with fate. Really responsible people…had uninsured motorist coverage….for those gamblers. Now we Have to Prove we have insurance and if we sell a car…….or just decide its old and makes a great yard decoration…..The Grubberment says insure that hunk a metal or you loose your license. Hmmmmm. Naw…insurance guys aren’t making any money there. Many states say you have to own insurance even if you don’t own a car?????????
So now we have to wear seat belts…….funny. I would be dead if they were required when I had My only wreck 25 years ago……the steering colum went through the back of my seat……policeman said it sure was a good thing I had not worn the seatbelt….I might not have walked away with a few broken teeth and nose. Cops can tell you………”any guy who says he’s never unbuckled a dead man….hasn’t been a cop for very long”
Seat belts….good idea…turned into a huge scam. Great idea for passengers….not so great for some drivers. Oh and if your gonna use belts…..use the kind you find in race cars. (5 point restraint) Lap belts are a great way to sit in a wheelchair the rest of your life. Ok…..I am done ranting.
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