Maine considering legislation that would make wearing seatbelts no longer mandatory for adults - Polidicks

[url]http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/maine-weighs-revoking-seat-belt-law-days-75-29279905[/url] [quote=ABC/AP]It's an effort that even the bill's sponsor acknowledges is poor timing. Just two days after a 75-vehicle pileup injured at least 17 people in the state, lawmakers in Maine are considering legislation that would allow adults to opt out of wearing seat belts. Sen. Eric Brakey told lawmakers on Friday that it's too bad they're considering his bill so close to Wednesday's crash on Interstate 95, which is thought to be largest in Maine history but had no fatalities.[/quote]

[quote]A seat belt, also known as a safety belt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop.[/quote] And they would allow adults to completely ignore something that meant to save their lives or prevent injury.

For what possible reason would this seem like a good idea?

Only idiots would not wear their seatbelts if this passed, so it could be seen as wanting an idiot cull in a sense, but it's still stupid regardless.

Good old Maine doing what needs to be done to control the population through self-selecting culls. How ironic that his name is Mr. Brakey.

How fucking dumb can you be to not want people to wear seatbelts? Imagine that 75 car pileup that injured 17 people, now imagine those 17 people possibly dead (not including others who were not injured) due to them not wearing seatbelts.

I understand the argument against it, but god damn do people really think they're invincible on the roads? Seatbelts really arent protecting you from yourself, they're protecting you from other, possibly shitty and intoxicated/distracted, drivers making bad decisions. The cellphone bill is unneeded.

Seatbelts aren't just for your own safety, they're for the safety of everyone in the car. If you decide not to wear one, you're a fucking idiot.

I don't give a shit, they're only harming themselves. I will continue to wear a seatbelt despite any laws.

if one idiot decides to not wear his seatbelt while driving alone, whatever that's their gig and if they die because of it, they took the risk. where i have a problem is when people are riding with others and they decide to not wear a seatbelt. in an accident, that person wearing a seatbelt goes from human to flying death machine that, in tumbling around the car, could easily hurt or kill other passengers who otherwise might have escaped without injury

Well, we can't do eugenics so this is the next best thing. Only the stupidest wouldn't wear their belts.

[QUOTE=Aide;47231818]And they would allow adults to completely ignore something that meant to save their lives or prevent injury.[/QUOTE] Hey, that's their decision. They're adults, not children-- they can make choices for themselves. If they don't want to wear a protective device that's meant to save their lives in case of an accident, fine. If they die or suffer permanent injuries as a result of deciding not to wear it, too bad. That's their problem. They'll be the ones facing the consequences of their stupidity, not me or you or any of the rest of us who have common sense.

Why put effort into passing something like this?

I don't even start my car without my seatbelt on or anyone else in the car. I won't drive until everyone is buckled in. Not because I've HAD a bad experience, its so I can AVOID one.

[QUOTE=NoobieWafer223;47232070]I don't even start my car without my seatbelt on or anyone else in the car. I won't drive until everyone is buckled in. Not because I've HAD a bad experience, its so I can AVOID one.[/QUOTE] Exactly, there's not too many close calls when it comes to crashes without a seatbelt

My truck got hit and rolled down a steep hill because someone ran a stop sign, I'd be dead without a seatbelt.

There was a pretty famous PSA talking about why you need to wear a seatbelt for others, not just yourself. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Qhmdk4VNs[/media]

As much as I like the idea of culling the idiots who are too stupid to wear a seatbelt, this is a terrible idea.

If the person behind the driver or passenger isn't wearing a seatbelt, that's another 140-250lbs of meat coming at the back of you during a crash. this is fucking dangerous.

[QUOTE=Jamsponge;47232100]There was a pretty famous PSA talking about why you need to wear a seatbelt for others, not just yourself. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Qhmdk4VNs[/media][/QUOTE] Why is it always the Irish who make horrifically violent road safety ads?

Death rates would skyrocket through the windshield.

Since we're legalizing the decision to put yourself (and others near you) at great harm if you want to, how about legalizing weed for adults, Maine? Because I bet the decision to not wear a seatbelt is going to kill far more people over the next 10 years than there will be deaths following the decision to smoke weed (including doing stupid shit while high) in Maine. Let's encourage jaywalking across highways while we're at it. [URL="http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/seatbeltbrief/"]From the CDC[/URL]: [QUOTE]Seat belts prevent drivers and passengers from being ejected during a crash. People not wearing a seat belt are [B]30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle[/B] during a crash. More than 3 out of 4 people who are ejected during a fatal crash die from their injuries.[/QUOTE]

The whole thing's being blown out of proportion really. This law (or repeal thereof) really isn't a big deal at all when you realize that [B]until 1984 [I]no state[/I] had a mandatory seat belt law, and Maine didn't have one until 1995[/B]. People did just fine then, people will do just fine now. That being said, unless there's some kind of issue going on in Maine where cops are going insane and giving everybody and their grandma a seatbelt ticket for no reasons or something, there's not much point to this.

Modern day airbags ain't as powerful as the "original" ones were, because back then there were still countries where seatbelt weren't mandatory to wear if your car came with them from the factory. In fact, modern day airbags are designed to work in conjunction with the seatbelt. [editline]wot[/editline] [QUOTE=Pretty Obscure;47232132]People did just fine then, people will do just fine now.[/QUOTE] Except in a crash...

There is only one other state in the US that allows you to drive without a belt, New Hampshire, and it has a below-average rate of vehicle fatalities despite mountainous terrain and poor winter conditions.

Having driven on a lot of back roads in Maine, many of which look similar but not quite as bad as this, [IMG]http://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Arthur_Acco1.jpg[/IMG] I can safely say this is stupid. Especially considering the roads that I drove on are frequented by logging trucks that have no concept of slowing down.

But why? It's just retarded, either the seat belt stops you or the fucking road does, like they obviously fucking acknowledge how awesome they are at their job by saying the timing is poor and that it's only for adults and thus kids need to wear one so why would you even consider making such a fucking waste of a law to allow some thick fucks to not wear a belt?

[QUOTE=Rapscallion92;47232301]But why? It's just retarded, either the seat belt stops you or the fucking road does, like they obviously fucking acknowledge how awesome they are at their job by saying the timing is poor and that it's only for adults and thus kids need to wear one so why would you even consider making such a fucking waste of a law to allow some thick fucks to not wear a belt?[/QUOTE] Yeah! Why would you EVER give people the freedom to do what they want to do? How dare they?

[QUOTE=Rapscallion92;47232301]But why? It's just retarded, either the seat belt stops you or the fucking road does, like they obviously fucking acknowledge how awesome they are at their job by saying the timing is poor and that it's only for adults and thus kids need to wear one so why would you even consider making such a fucking waste of a law to allow some thick fucks to not wear a belt?[/QUOTE] The argument is that it isn't the role of the state to make decisions for people.

you can still die with a seat belt on but you have a less of a chance doing so than with no seat belt on