Should Seat belts should be an option on to wear them or not - General

I wanted to get an opinion from you guys. Wearing a seatbelt is mandatory, at least in the states. And I find that to be complete bullshit. Yes, I wear my seatbelt, but I really think it should be a choice to. How exactly is it harming you or the other driver? What are the chances of you flying out of your car, into the car you hit and killing the other person? It should be your choice if you want to wear one or not. The reason I brought this up is because I had a friend who ended up wrecking his car and flipping it, if he had his seatbelt on, he would of been stuck and possibly killed, but luckily he didn't. I just really think it should be a choice and not a law, any opinions?

If you don't wear a seat belt when you have other passengers in the car you become a flying sack of meat inside and will probably cause very serious injuries to the passengers.

Take note that not every state requires it; In NH, you don't have to wear a seat belt if you're 18 or over. Actually, I think NH is the [I]only[/I] state that doesn't require it.

You do not wear the seat belts to avoid from flying out of the car like in some dumb Hollywood film, but to not get smashed against the seat in front of you or the steering wheel/ dashboard. And why would you ignore wearing it either way? It does not even feel uncomfortable or is even noticeable and has saved a lot of lives in high speed crashes where the seat belt makes the car's crumble zone absorb most of the impact and not your body. Also, what exactly happened to your friend in a crash? I doubt that it was due to the lack of seatbelt what saved him there but the sheer dumb luck.

Seat belts are definitely something you want to be wearing. I am glad it is mandatory to wear them Not only they offer protection themselves by keeping you in your seat, but they also work in tandem (and are necessary) with other potentially lethal protection system An example is the Airbag. Let's not forget a prerequisite of them actually protecting you is wearing a seatbelt. The explosion, and thus rapid expansion of them can cause severe or even lethal damage to you, in case you were too close to the airbag itself upon the expansion being triggered

I believe if no one is in the car with you, Why not? I mean, If you die its your fault, your not going to harm anyone else by becoming a windsheld cannon except yourself.

[QUOTE=windows098;44580885]your not going to harm anyone else by becoming a windsheld cannon except yourself.[/QUOTE] Except the socialized health care system that needs to pay for your grievous injuries, and the insurance company who may or may not have to pay your your facial reconstruction surgery. As long as we live in society where people need to pay taxes on behest of idiots, then yes, people should be forced to wear seatbelts.

[QUOTE=crazycory65;44580393]Yes, I wear my seatbelt, but I really think it should be a choice to. How exactly is it harming you or the other driver? What are the chances of you flying out of your car, into the car you hit and killing the other person?[/QUOTE] some things to consider: * the chances of you flying out of the car and injuring someone else or getting instakilled because your head hit the pavement are basically non-existent if you [I]are[/I] wearing a seatbelt * if you are not wearing a seatbelt and there is somebody else in the car with you, your flailing body can injure or kill them in a crash * if you are sitting in the back and not wearing a seatbelt, your body can slam into the seat in front of you and crush the person in front of you to death (because seats are not designed to take large forces from the wrong direction) [QUOTE=crazycory65;44580393]The reason I brought this up is because I had a friend who ended up wrecking his car and flipping it, if he had his seatbelt on, he would of been stuck and possibly killed, but luckily he didn't.[/QUOTE] when you flip a car, if you have no seatbelt and you get flung out the car there's a good chance you will die (probably from a brain injury) because you can't control what you hit or how you hit it despite the occasional "oh if i was wearing a seatbelt i'd be dead but i got thrown out to safety instead" stories don't cancel out the statistics that show you're more likely to die or get injured if you don't wear a seatbelt if you're that concerned about getting stuck in a car, get a seatbelt cutter and window breaker (in fact, people should just have those anyway) and carry it in the car so yeah, not wearing a seatbelt should not be an option because even if you are fine with dying in a crash, you are endangering other people by not wearing one, all for some minor improvement in comfort

Its for safety. Why would you honestly not want to wear one?

[QUOTE=crazycory65;44580393]I wanted to get an opinion from you guys. Wearing a seatbelt is mandatory, at least in the states. And I find that to be complete bullshit. Yes, I wear my seatbelt, but I really think it should be a choice to. How exactly is it harming you or the other driver? What are the chances of you flying out of your car, into the car you hit and killing the other person? It should be your choice if you want to wear one or not. The reason I brought this up is because I had a friend who ended up wrecking his car and flipping it, if he had his seatbelt on, he would of been stuck and possibly killed, but luckily he didn't. I just really think it should be a choice and not a law, any opinions?[/QUOTE] What are the chances of you becoming a human bullet? Ask this guy: [video=youtube;bHwweoHr3nM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHwweoHr3nM[/video]

What about the issue of your children? I hate to pull the 'For the kids!' card so quickly, but I doubt a minor, especially those in early youth, would be capable of responsibly choosing weather or not to put their own safety at risk. Children are, on average, in more peril during car accidents, and seat-belts save lives. For children, and adults. It seems to be comparable to the question of 'should minors be able to purchase cigarettes?', as making a conscious decision to put your own health at risk is something only a responsible adult should be able to do. And even in this case, it's different--because Seat Belts aren't a [I]real[/I] inconvenience for anyone. The time and effort needed to use one is so insignificant--especially compared to the difference made during a crash. The fact of the matter is, Seat Belts save lives. If you're sitting anywhere towards the front of a vehicle and you crash, a seatbelt is the first, and one of the most significant barriers between you, and a tragic-bloodstained death on the other side of that windshield. It's too important to neglect, especially when it comes to your own kids.

[QUOTE=IGotWorms;44582157]What are the chances of you becoming a human bullet? Ask this guy: [video=youtube;bHwweoHr3nM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHwweoHr3nM[/video][/QUOTE] That guy not only had his seat belt off but had his other hand completely away from the steering wheel, that's pretty bad. I myself have a habit of seat belts almost as automatic as breathing. It's pretty much like insurance, you don't need it most of the time, but when you do need it, it can help you greatly. Crashes aside, it's also useful for sudden stops or turns. I've seen someone break their nose because their head went straight into the dashboard when the driver had slammed on their brakes. A seat belt would lock you back when the brakes are applied. I'm kind of on the line about if it should be mandatory, but I suppose I lean towards it being so. It's very useful, and rarely a discomfort; even when uncomfortable, it's still more comfortable than major injuries.

[QUOTE=crazycory65;44580393]The reason I brought this up is because I had a friend who ended up wrecking his car and flipping it, if he had his seatbelt on, he would of been stuck and possibly killed, but luckily he didn't.[/QUOTE] I heavily doubt it was the lack of a seatbelt that prevented death here, considering seatbelts are preventing you from bouncing around in a roll over and connecting with the various hard and sharp points in the interior. That would be like me being shot without body armor on, surviving, and saying I survived because of my lack of body armor. It's absurd.

Making it illegal to not wear seatbelts stops stupid people from becoming the majority.

[QUOTE=crazycory65;44580393]The reason I brought this up is because I had a friend who ended up wrecking his car and flipping it, if he had his seatbelt on, he would of been stuck and possibly killed, but luckily he didn't.[/QUOTE] You do realize that without his seat belt on he'd have been far more likely to die, right? If his car flipped then he would have been thrown all over the place without a seat belt. The only remotely valid point there is that if he was upside down it could have made it difficult to unbuckle which is only really relevant if the car has caught fire. And even then it's easily solved by dropping a couple dollars on one of those tools for cutting seat belts.