• 30 years later and 6% of Britons still don't wear seatbelts
    86 replies, posted
An interesting question to ask would be how many people don't wear a seatbelt on a bus (where they have them equipped). Why is it that people are far more comfortable to not wear seatbelts on a bus? Or don't seatbelts actually help in a bus accident or something. Public transport here doesn't have seatbelts but private bus charters do. This confuses me.
i always drive with it on but i was doing a delivery route over the summer and i was getting in and out so much i didn't drive with one at that time, it feels so weird switching between them
I still know people who refuse to wear a seat belt even after being told stories from friends who survived accidents thanks to the seatbelt. :psyduck:
I can understand where people can voice discomfort over wearing them (I'm a pretty thin dude and that chest strap still does a number on my shoulders depending on the vehicle), but I still feel like you should wear them regardless. Though there have been numerous cases of people having their throats slit open in an accident due to the chest belt sliding against a persons neck :v:
If the chest belt goes near your neck you should adjust it or sit a little more upright, not that it's possible in every vehicle though.
I only wear seat belts on unfamiliar highways. When Im just cruising around the city or driving to the shops there's literally no reason to wear one because you're barely ever going above 60kmh anyway. They're just uncomfortable as fuck.
I just realised that I put my seatbelt on as naturally as I check my volume or unlock my phone. It's just something so automated and quick that you never quite realise how much this simple little action is protecting you.
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119710]I only wear seat belts on unfamiliar highways. When Im just cruising around the city or driving to the shops there's literally no reason to wear one because you're barely ever going above 60kmh anyway. They're just uncomfortable as fuck.[/QUOTE] I understand where you're coming from, but what if it's another driver who smashes into you?
Honestly if you don't want to wear a seat belt then fuck it, don't. If you don't want to it's your own dumass decision to do so, so when you go flying through the wind shield there's no ones fault but yourself. While it's all fine and dandy to promote wearing a seat belt, I honestly don't understand why that needs to be a law. If you're too ignorant to not wear one in the first place, what good does the law do other than deter the slightly less ignorant?
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119710]I only wear seat belts on unfamiliar highways. When Im just cruising around the city or driving to the shops there's literally no reason to wear one because you're barely ever going above 60kmh anyway. They're just uncomfortable as fuck.[/QUOTE] What if you get T-boned at an intersection? you will be beyond fucked.
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119710]I only wear seat belts on unfamiliar highways. When Im just cruising around the city or driving to the shops there's literally no reason to wear one because you're barely ever going above 60kmh anyway. They're just uncomfortable as fuck.[/QUOTE] That's about 37 Miles Per Hour. This is a car on car crash at 30. [video=youtube;EiemdDk6Hu8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiemdDk6Hu8[/video] You may not die, but you'd suffer neck and back injuries. This is 60 KM/H into a wall [video=youtube;wCUH8yy2m-8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCUH8yy2m-8[/video] This is something similar at 40 KM/H [video=youtube;fQ-xOplVUyc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ-xOplVUyc[/video] They are there to protect you, a collision at any speed can cause a lot of damage to both your vehicle and you.
You can't fix stupid. It's a freaking miracle that the UK got stupid down to 6% of the population in this particular case.
[QUOTE=shauntp;46119797]I understand where you're coming from, but what if it's another driver who smashes into you?[/QUOTE] There comes a point in your life where you gradually start giving less of a shit about "what if"s. If another driver smashes into me I'd either be dead or deformed in one way or another either way, a seat belt isn't going to magically save me. Plus there are really not a lot of places where you can accelerate to fatal speeds. And if they are, any seasoned driver should be able to easily spot these areas and be a bit more careful both with himself and any other potential reckless drivers while passing those places. Life isn't a movie where you're comfortably driving down a street completely oblivious to the massive death truck hurling your way at 200kmh from the side. [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=bdd458;46119894] This is 60 KM/H into a wall [video=youtube;wCUH8yy2m-8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCUH8yy2m-8[/video] [/QUOTE] I guess I'll keep these in mind next time I'm driving head first into a concrete fucking wall.
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119918]There comes a point in your life where you gradually start giving less of a shit about "what if"s. If another driver smashes into me I'd either be dead or deformed in one way or another either way, a seat belt isn't going to magically save me. Plus there are really not a lot of places where you can accelerate to fatal speeds. And if they are, any seasoned driver should be able to easily spot these areas and be a bit more careful both with himself and any other potential reckless drivers while passing those places. Life isn't a movie where you're comfortably driving down a street completely oblivious to the massive death truck hurling your way at 200kmh from the side. [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] I guess I'll keep these in mind next time I'm driving head first into a concrete fucking wall.[/QUOTE] You are an idiot, never drive a motor vehicle again
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119918]There comes a point in your life where you gradually start giving less of a shit about "what if"s. If another driver smashes into me I'd either be dead or deformed in one way or another either way, a seat belt isn't going to magically save me. Plus there are really not a lot of places where you can accelerate to fatal speeds. And if they are, any seasoned driver should be able to easily spot these areas and be a bit more careful both with himself and any other potential reckless drivers while passing those places. Life isn't a movie where you're comfortably driving down a street completely oblivious to the massive death truck hurling your way at 200kmh from the side. [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] I guess I'll keep these in mind next time I'm driving head first into a concrete fucking wall.[/QUOTE] Consider this. You're sitting in the backseat and you're not wearing a seatbelt. You get into a wreck and because you're not wearing a seatbelt you fly forward and hit the driver or passenger seat. If the wreck didn't do much damage to the driver or the passenger, you hitting them will. Just wear your seatbelt dude.
[QUOTE=Thomo_UK;46115819]We have a car which has none and isn't legally required to fit them because when the car was made it wasn't compulsory. I do say I don't like riding in it.[/QUOTE] If I were you I'd get some replacement seats which at least have lap belts. Better than nothing.
[QUOTE=gerbe1;46119067]An interesting question to ask would be how many people don't wear a seatbelt on a bus (where they have them equipped). Why is it that people are far more comfortable to not wear seatbelts on a bus? Or don't seatbelts actually help in a bus accident or something. Public transport here doesn't have seatbelts but private bus charters do. This confuses me.[/QUOTE] It's probably a habit. School buses do not have them so people are, quite literally, conditioned from practically day one that 'If you're on a bus you don't need a belt'. I find it a bit silly and will always wear a belt when I have one available, but it's an easy thing to explain away. People are just too used to buses not even having seatbelts to bother wearing one when the bus does have it. [QUOTE=Rocâ„¢;46116575]Tbh, I don't understand how they find it unconfortable. Are they so fat that the seatbelt is too tight around their torso? Or is it suffocating them through their huge necks?[/QUOTE] Not all seatbelts are created equal. Ford seatbelts are a running gag in my family because they're [i]never[/i] comfortable. My experience with them: 1967 Mustang: Only had lap belts, and they were a [i]bitch[/i] to cinch up. But they did work okay. Probably the most comfortable Ford belts I've ever used, honestly. 1984 F150: Always way too tight. The retractor springs in this truck weren't the problem, though, the latch that is only supposed to engage in a crash would trigger before you could get the fucking things buckled 95% of the time. 1984 F150 take two: Different truck, same vintage. This one the seat belts didn't like to retract all the way. I'm a big guy and the shoulder strap was still loose. If I got that tight the lap strap was loose. Probably needed new reels, hindsight being what it is. 1985 F150: My current DD. Seatbelts buckle in fine, tension fine, don't randomly latch out on ya. But they act like sawblades on your neck. I have to slip it under my collar every couple miles. 1989 F150: The latches on these belts are, by some miracle of engineering, tied to the fucking door latches! If you close the door and then try to put them on they will not reel in. Annoyingly, this is how it works in 99.9% of all vehicles on the road, which often means the shoulder strap is flopping around. Opening the door releases the reel and in it goes. 1995 Ford Mustang: Had a mixture of the first '84 F150 and the '85's problems. The latter was solved with some of those pad thingies but I was always having to reattach it at stop lights when I rode in this thing. Friend's car. 2003 Ford Ranger XLT: This little guy was also highly prone to latching out for no reason, but at least the seatbelts didn't want to behead the wearer! 2011 Fusion: More easily latched out reels here, also they tended to saw at my neck as well. I still wore them every time I got in the car, sure, but I have yet to sit in a Ford that didn't have uncomfortable seatbelts.[QUOTE=Thomo_UK;46119653]If the chest belt goes near your neck you should adjust it or sit a little more upright, not that it's possible in every vehicle though.[/QUOTE] It's not in my truck. The seat's only adjustment is fore and aft, and it's a bench seat so moving it requires the passenger's help or it ends up cocked sideways in the cab. The only way to avoid the belt sawing at your neck in that thing is to lean towards the center of the cab at all times or use the collar of your shirt as a grommet. [QUOTE=Melnek;46119710]I only wear seat belts on unfamiliar highways. When Im just cruising around the city or driving to the shops there's literally no reason to wear one because you're barely ever going above 60kmh anyway. They're just uncomfortable as fuck.[/QUOTE] If you're going sixty klicks and someone hits you headon at a buck twenty that seatbelt is the only thing keeping you from dying. Put it on.
How much of a fucking twat do you have to be to think that wearing a seatbelt is unnecessary.
[QUOTE=matt.ant;46115944]My car goes 'bing bing bing' constantly if anyone isn't wearing their seatbelt while it's moving[/QUOTE] My car doesn't care if the drivers seat belt isn't plugged in. It used to go absolutely apeshit before I figured out how to disable the chime if you so much as threw the mail on the passenger seat though. Because that totally makes sens right?
[QUOTE=Reagy;46120492]If I were you I'd get some replacement seats which at least have lap belts. Better than nothing.[/QUOTE] Agreed. I want, almost to the point of insisting, on owning and daily driving a muscle car. Such vehicles predate shoulder belts, yet I'd still fit them to it. May not be stock equipment but I'd rather stay in the seat and at the controls if an emergency pops up. [QUOTE=Melnek;46119918] If another driver smashes into me I'd either be dead or deformed in one way or another either way, a seat belt isn't going to magically save me.[/quote] They can and they do. Plus, there's this: Your lifeless body bouncing down the highway could cause a second fatal crash, one that wouldn't have happened if you'da been strapped in. 'Tis why I still wear my seatbelts even though my truck is far too old to have any other safety features beyond a shoulder seatbelt and front disc brakes. [quote] Plus there are really not a lot of places where you can accelerate to fatal speeds.[/quote] Sixty klicks is a fatal speed for an unbuckled driver. [quote] And if they are, any seasoned driver should be able to easily spot these areas and be a bit more careful both with himself and any other potential reckless drivers while passing those places. [/quote] And they can spot bridges that collapse beneath them? They can spot trees falling down in front of them due to severe weather? Sinkholes forming beneath their car? Mechanical failures? There's plenty of hazards on the roadways that no amount of driver skill can get you out of and you need to be buckled in because of them. [quote]Life isn't a movie where you're comfortably driving down a street completely oblivious to the massive death truck hurling your way at 200kmh from the side.[/quote] Life is stranger than fiction. [quote]I guess I'll keep these in mind next time I'm driving head first into a concrete fucking wall.[/QUOTE] Or that asshole bus driver that ran his red light and didn't give you enough room to stop in time or swerve around him.
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119918]There comes a point in your life where you gradually start giving less of a shit about "what if"s. If another driver smashes into me I'd either be dead or deformed in one way or another either way, a seat belt isn't going to magically save me. Plus there are really not a lot of places where you can accelerate to fatal speeds. And if they are, any seasoned driver should be able to easily spot these areas and be a bit more careful both with himself and any other potential reckless drivers while passing those places. Life isn't a movie where you're comfortably driving down a street completely oblivious to the massive death truck hurling your way at 200kmh from the side.[/QUOTE] If dash cams are anything to go by, that shit happens literally every day. And that's just what happens to be caught on camera. Pretending that no one is ever going to make a mistake or there won't ever be a freak accident is hilariously naive. And sure, a seat belt is never a guarantee that you will survive, but the likelihood of surviving increases such a stupid amount its not even funny. Its funny how you preach about defensive driving, when one of the best defenses you have is a fucking seat belt. [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=TestECull;46120493]It's probably a habit. School buses do not have them so people are, quite literally, conditioned from practically day one that 'If you're on a bus you don't need a belt'. I find it a bit silly and will always wear a belt when I have one available, but it's an easy thing to explain away. People are just too used to buses not even having seatbelts to bother wearing one when the bus does have it. Not all seatbelts are created equal. Ford seatbelts are a running gag in my family because they're [i]never[/i] comfortable. [/QUOTE] For some reason, my Escort seat belts are surprisingly comfortable (at least the driver seat one is). It might be from 15 years of wear, but I sometimes forget that I even have them on. Tight enough they will keep you in place, but not death grip level. Locking mechanism works though, since I almost rolled in a ditch and they jammed hard enough where is took some coaxing to get it to retract again. Honestly, if I wasn't wearing my seatbelt, I probably would have successfully rolled. My body staying in the driver side was just enough to get it to fall back on the wheels.
1 of the college landrovers we use only has 3 working seatbelts and theirs usually 6 of us in the landrover.
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119918]There comes a point in your life where you gradually start giving less of a shit about "what if"s. If another driver smashes into me I'd either be dead or deformed in one way or another either way, a seat belt isn't going to magically save me. Plus there are really not a lot of places where you can accelerate to fatal speeds. And if they are, any seasoned driver should be able to easily spot these areas and be a bit more careful both with himself and any other potential reckless drivers while passing those places. Life isn't a movie where you're comfortably driving down a street completely oblivious to the massive death truck hurling your way at 200kmh from the side. [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] I guess I'll keep these in mind next time I'm driving head first into a concrete fucking wall.[/QUOTE] How demonstrate a fundamental of understanding of basic physics in a single post. A concise guide brought to you by Melnek.
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119710]I only wear seat belts on unfamiliar highways. When Im just cruising around the city or driving to the shops there's literally no reason to wear one because you're barely ever going above 60kmh anyway. They're just uncomfortable as fuck.[/QUOTE] I drive on familiar roads on the time as well, but you know what else is very familiar in every part of the world? Dickhead drivers. Whose to say that tomorrow you're driving into town and some fuckwit clips you and runs you off the road, you're going to be in hospital critically injured and just think "I should of worn that bloody sealtbelt" These things weren't invented to be a major inconvenience, they were invented to save lives
[QUOTE=Melnek;46119710]I only wear seat belts on unfamiliar highways. When Im just cruising around the city or driving to the shops there's literally no reason to wear one because you're barely ever going above 60kmh anyway. They're just uncomfortable as fuck.[/QUOTE] Hahah, You're hilarious. [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] On another note, here in the Netherlands nowadays the DRIVER gets fined if the passenger doesn't wear his seatbelt. I just tell my passengers: "Seatbelts are optional, the fine however is yours" It usually works.
Somebody tell me why buses have no seatbelt? Just because I'm not likely to fly through a windscreen doesn't mean I'm happy to snap my neck on the plastic seat infront of me...
[QUOTE=Thomo_UK;46115819]We have a car which has none and isn't legally required to fit them because when the car was made it wasn't compulsory. I do say I don't like riding in it.[/QUOTE] What kind of car is that? Just curious [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Talvy;46116690]Then there's the people who say seatbelts kill...[/QUOTE] And they would be right. They do kill, but in one out of million cases. (not necessarily million but you get it)
[QUOTE=Dark RaveN;46121684]What kind of car is that? Just curious [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] And they would be right. They do kill, but in one out of million cases. (not necessarily million but you get it)[/QUOTE] Series 2 land rover. [editline]1st October 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Reagy;46120492]If I were you I'd get some replacement seats which at least have lap belts. Better than nothing.[/QUOTE] It's not the people inside I am worried about. It's whatever we hit look at this for a front bumper. [t]http://a.pomf.se/krpazo.JPG[/t]
I never wear my seatbelt when on a coach, probably should really. But I always do in a car it's just instinctual now.
The only reason my father wears a seatbelt is because the car beeps when someone doesn't wear one.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.