Does anyone NOT wear seat belts in cars?

[NancyK]

I don't know what I would do if an adult didn't want to wear one in my car, but I think that I would probably make them. Unrestrained, they become projectiles in an accident...

I remember years ago, my FIL gave me the argument that it was "his life." And I told him that without a seatbelt it could be the lives of his children/grandchildren if he was thrown into us. He grudgingly puts one on when he is with us, but he ALWAYS has to be reminded. We refuse to drive anywhere unless everyone is buckled.
It seems that around here, nine times out of ten, a traffic fatality involves someone who was "thrown clear." Such a waste.
Thanks to the PP who posted a link to LifeHammer. I think I'll be ordering a couple of those.

 

[georgina]

Everyone in our cars wears seat belts. I cannot understand how anyone could not wear one. (But then again, I can't understand why people do a lot of things I consider stupid.) You can be the best driver in the world, but someone could hit you, or a deer could cause you to crash. I am always pointing out articles to my kids when people died in crashes and it said "not wearing a seat belt". Senseless deaths.

 

[taylor1293]

No, If it caught on fire you want to be trapped under one.

But how do you get "under" a car in the first place unless you don't have your seatbelt on? A seatbelt keeps you in the car. I wouldn't want to be trapped under a car, fire or not...I think there would be no hope.

 

[arminnie]

From the Michigan State Police Website:

MYTH: I'd rather be thrown clear in a crash.

FACT: Being thrown safely clear in a crash is almost impossible. When you're thrown, you may be thrown through the windshield, scraped along the pavement, or even crushed by your own vehicle or another one. The idea of being thrown from a car and gently landing in a grassy area beside the road is pure fantasy. Your best bet in a crash is to stay inside the vehicle, securely held by your safety belt.

So true. A family member was in the front seat of a van that was stopped waiting to turn left (it was only a 2 block trip) into the hotel. A speeding car hit them, and she was thrown out of the van.

For the past 26 years she has basically been a vegetable. She was a bright active 23 year old. She is unable to eat, is incontinent, cannot walk or talk. She probably has the mind of a 2 year old. Such a terrible tragedy.

Her medical care has cost millions and millions of dollars.

 

[tiggger1]

Everyone who gets in my car has to wear a seat belt, regardless of where they sit.

same here!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

We always wear them in my family.
My father installed harnesses in an old 1960s car when we were kids. We have always worn some sort of seat belt/harness even when it wasn't the norm.

When I first started dating my DH my future stepkids would not wear seatbelts in the backseat. They told me that their DM only made them wear them in the front seat. I told them that the car wouldn't move until they were buckled in. It took a few times for me having to turn off the ignition and just wait. One time they tried taking it off while I was driving. I just pulled over to the side of the road and turned the car off. My one SD actually told me she hated me. I told her that I hoped it was a long and healthy hate but she would still be alive to hate me. Now she is 18 and doesn't even remember saying it.

 

[crashbb]

Interestingly in England, it is the driver's responsibility for front seat passengers to buckle but if a car is stopped and the rear seat passengers are unbuckled, they get the ticket, not the driver.

The law in Ontario is that the driver is responsible for those under 16 (I think that is the cut off). After that, the non-seatbelt wearer is the one fined.

 

[torinsmom]

Thanks to the PP who posted a link to LifeHammer. I think I'll be ordering a couple of those.

That was me. Just wanted to point out that you can find the tools like that at Walmart as well as auto parts stores, probably cheaper. Some of them even have a strong flashlight or flashing beacon built in. I have never had to use ours, but I like having it there and my DS knows where it is in case I was to be unconscious and he needed to use it. Better safe than sorry.

I didn't always wear my seat belt when I was younger. One day, I got in the car in a hurry and didn't buckle. When I got to the stop sign at the end of my road, my car stalled(never did that before that day) I cranked it back up and put on my seatbelt. A few minutes later I had a blowout going 60mphand totalled my car. I walked away from that and the highway patrolman said I was "damn lucky"(his words) that I had a seatbelt on. I am thankful that someone higher up was looking out for me that day!

Marsha

 

[alexandria674]

I always have to wear one, not just because of safety's sake but also because I don't feel easy without one.

 

[MrsPete]

I have known many many people who have been killed in car accident getting trapped under a car.

That happened to one of my students.

She was thrown through the window, and the pick-up truck she was driving flipped over on top of her. She never regained consciousness, but she lingered in the hospital long enough to exceed the upper limits of her parents' health insurance, and they spent every penny they had trying to save her life. The only silver lining was that she finally did die; her parents didn't have to make the grueling decision to "unplug the machines".

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

That happened to one of my students.

She was thrown through the window, and the pick-up truck she was driving flipped over on top of her. She never regained consciousness, but she lingered in the hospital long enough to exceed the upper limits of her parents' health insurance, and they spent every penny they had trying to save her life. The only silver lining was that she finally did die; her parents didn't have to make the grueling decision to "unplug the machines".

Ahh, but was she trapped under the car by her seatbelt? It sounds like the seatbelt might have saved her life, had it been worn.

The PP was using that statement to rationalize not wearing a seatbelt (which is her right, and not something that I would criticize in a stranger)...

 

[koima]

The PP was using that statement to rationalize not wearing a seatbelt (which is her right, and not something that I would criticize in a stranger)...

In California, where I live, it is not your right to not wear a seatbelt. Seatbelts are mandatory by law and not a choice.

My dad was in an accident where he likely wouldn't have survived if he'd been wearing a seatbelt. He was driving through an intersection when a woman drive through a red light and into his van. He was thrown into the passenger footwell and his van rolled down a hill and crashed into a pole into the driver's seat. Cabinets installed in the back of the van came off and smashed through the windshield, taking off the top 1/3 of the front seats. The driver's seat was both crushed in by the pole and cut off by the cabinets, so had he been in the seat, he would have been crushed and possibly decapitated. My dad walked away with a broken wrist. He doesn't wear a seatbelt and even after that, I have said that he'll only be in that kind of accident once in a lifetime. For the other 99% of accidents, the seatbelt would save your life. It's been a fight between us for years.

As for my husband, kids, and I, we wear our seatbelt.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

In California, where I live, it is not your right to not wear a seatbelt. Seatbelts are mandatory by law and not a choice...

While I choose to wear a seatbelt, and require my children to do the same, I understand that it is not my place to force other people into a safe lifestyle.

I would never hang glide (too dangerous, IMO). But I would never support a law banning hang gliding. If someone wants to live recklessly, that is their right (even if our government tramples that right ).

I do not want to get into politics on the board, but just wanted you to understand my statement. I do not expect you to agree with me. There is plenty of room in America for differences of opinion. Peace...

 

[janette]

I'm thankful this week that one of my sister's survived an accident on Monday; she wasn't wearing a seatbelt I don't know why as I think she usually does. She had numerous injuries included brain swelling, after about 24hrs she started coming around and will be moving from ICU tomorrow. The decision to not wear a seatbelt changed an accident that she probably would have walked away from to one we are glad she survived.

I always wear my seatbelt and require it of my passengers; if you don't care about your self think of the people who love you and how they'll feel if you are gone from them and you could have prevented their loss by buckling.

 

[Stacerita]

I always wear a seatbelt and make anyone riding with me wear one as well. DBF never wore one before we got together, now its a habit for him. Plus its the law here. Thankfully there are those who choose not to wear seatbelts. Without them we wouldn't be able to do as many organ donations.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...Thankfully there are those who choose not to wear seatbelts. Without them we wouldn't be able to do as many organ donations.

Ouch!

 

[monarchsfan16]

I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt, and I live in a state where it's legal to go without one if you're 18 or older. Had I not been wearing one in an accident in high school I absolutely would have been injured. Had my sister not been wearing hers last month when another driver ran a red light she quite possibly would not still be here and she definitely would not still be a typical 18 year old. The outcomes of both of our accidents have confirmed my choice.

 

[torinsmom]

So, what do you think about this? If someone has a car accident and is NOT wearing a seat belt, should their insurance pay for excessive injuries that would(most likely) not have occurred had they been wearing their seat belt? For example, if someone is sitting at a stop light and is rear ended at low speed. Wearing a seat belt, there may be some slight injuries, but not wearing one there could be severe head injuries(head hitting windshield) as well as severe abdominal injuries(stomach hitting steering wheel), etc. I actually think that should be a consideration, especially if seat belt use in mandatory in the city the accident is in.

I also think that seatbelt violations should be given points for insurance. They give people discounts for taking a defensive driving course or having a safe driving record, you know? Inexperienced drivers have higher rates because they are more likely to be in an accident, right? Well, drivers not wearing seat belts are more likely to have a serious injuries in an accident, so I think they should pay more. JMHO of course.

Marsha

 

[clgwli]

Ahh, but was she trapped under the car by her seatbelt? It sounds like the seatbelt might have saved her life, had it been worn.

The PP was using that statement to rationalize not wearing a seatbelt (which is her right, and not something that I would criticize in a stranger)...

I actually know someone who was trapped in the car due to his seat belt when the car flipped. They were in a convertible and 3 were thrown. He wound up dying 4 years later after being in a vegetative state from a secondary illness.

One friend out of many is a rare case IMO and I cannot see it happening more than once in my lifetime. Not ever.

Not one of us who knew him and love him ever used this as an excuse to not buckle up. Never! In fact I am always pushing when I can to make people use them. To not wear one is taking your life in your hands and absolutely 100% irresponsible to me IMO.

I said I do not make adults wear seat belts in the back of my car but it's not the law and I do not feel like I should push people to do something they don't want to in my car. I'm very liberal like that though

 

[xCourxCorex]

I almost always wear mine.

About 2 days ago, I witnessed an awful car accident right in front of the car I was in (one car spun and sort of rolled into us). The girls who caused the accident weren't wearing belts - they were all taken away in neck braces, and one's head and legs were bloody from cuts. They were all very lucky that they were not injured worse than that!