Does anyone NOT wear seat belts in cars?

[mumom95]

My dh, kids and I always wear our seatbelts.

My MIL never wears one, even if we ask her to.

 

[Corryn]

My cousin was sitting in the backseat of my grandfather's car. He stopped short and she went right through the windshield.
She had to HAVE HER TONGUE SEWN BACK ON.

I am in nursing school right now and this past semester we were in the pediatric ward doing our clinical rotations.

One little three year old was in there because her mom never made her wear her seatbelt in the car. She said that her daughter didn't like to wear it and cried and cried and had tantrums if she tried to make her wear it, so instead of dealing with an irrational three year old, she let her hop around the back seat while she was driving. Mom got into an accident. She's fine. But her daughter, the three year old, is now paralyzed from the neck down.

Then there's the 18 year old boy who has his permit and snuck out at 3:00 a.m. to be with his girlfriend. Texting while driving AND no seat belt + tree = permanent brain damage, can't walk, can't talk, needs everything done for him and he has a feeding tube in his stomach.

Oh, and then there's the one my husband loves to tell the kids:
He was a cop, NYPD, and one night was chasing after a car that had been carjacked. Woman was forced into the backseat of her Jeep Cherokee. Perps speeding through town, get cut off by another car & Jeep crashes but woman gets thrown from Jeep (Perps dead, btw, no seat belts).
My husband went over to the woman who was slumped over, but in a sitting position leaning up against a store. On her way out of the Jeep while being ejected (because she wasn't wearing a seatbelt) she hit a parking meter. Her brain was about fifty feet away from her, steaming on the cold concrete sidewalk.

 

[shortbun]

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

Us too. I have a girlfriend who lost an eye in an auto accident-not her fault. She was granted less in her award from the other driver because she did not have her seatbelt on. It went to court; the judge agreed that she had not done what was reasonable to protect herself therefore was negligent and got very little for the loss of her eye.


Buckle up folks.

 

[shortbun]

My DH will not wear one no matter what I say.

I'd turn my husband in. Seriously, my Dad had a fully plastic forhead because he didn't wear his and someone ran a red light. He looked like a monster for three years and my little sister was afraid of him. I'd call the cops, give them my husband's license # and ask them to pull him over and ticket him over and over again until he started wearing it.

 

[disfan07]

I always have and always will. I am the most paranoid driver in existence i think.
Last october on my way to school, i was T-boned in teh middle of an intersection. I had a green light to go through and the other person did not stop in the turn lane and t-boned the drivers side (i was driving) and crushed the door into me, teh dashboard crushed, the car was pushed across 3 lanes after the impact. And this was only at 35-40MPH!! I was stuck in my car. I los counsciousness rigth after i was hit and i awoke to not beign able to move my legs or my right arm and i couldn't breath.The fire department had to get me out. I broke 2 ribs, dislocated my shoulder, dislocated my knee, and every part of my body was bruised. I was in the hospital for 7 days adn at home from school and work for another 10. I couldn't lifet my kids at work for 7 weeks!!!! The police officer who came to the hospital after the crash said told my mom and my brother that if i hadnt been wearing my sealt belt that accident probably would have killed me. 9 months later and i am still in physical therapy and i have permanant nerve damage in my left arm. Its not worth the risk.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

One little three year old was in there because her mom never made her wear her seatbelt in the car. She said that her daughter didn't like to wear it and cried and cried and had tantrums if she tried to make her wear it, so instead of dealing with an irrational three year old, she let her hop around the back seat while she was driving. Mom got into an accident. She's fine. But her daughter, the three year old, is now paralyzed from the neck down.

I certainly hope that mother went to jail. I can not stand parents who do not make their kids sit in safety seats/wear safety belts. I have been on the road before and passed women holding babies in their laps as their husbands drove down the road. Maybe people will flame me for this, but several times I have written down their license plate numbers and called the Highway Patrol or the local police and reported it.

 

[golfgal]

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

Had he not had his seat belt on he would have been killed instantly-flipping out of the convertable.

We always wear our seatbelts, the kids and I that is. For whatever reason DH seems to think when we are not in the car he doesn't need to wear one. We have the camera system in one of our cars from our insurance company and he has been caught on that several times. Good thing we have a will and good life insurance . He KNOWS better than that. We now have a manditiory seat belt law and I know he will get pulled over and then whine about the $300 fine.

 

[lspst8]

I certainly hope that mother went to jail. I can not stand parents who do not make their kids sit in safety seats/wear safety belts. I have been on the road before and passed women holding babies in their laps as their husbands drove down the road. Maybe people will flame me for this, but several times I have written down their license plate numbers and called the Highway Patrol or the local police and reported it.

I've wanted to do this, but have never had the guts to actually make the call. Do you call 911 or some other number? I hate to see little kids jumping around in the back of a car, because it is so dangerous. I don't understand how the parents could be so irresponsible and risk their chilrens' lives.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

Well, the Florida Highway Patrol has a special number so if I'm on a large road (which is usually the case), I call them. Otherwise, I call 911 because to me that is an emergency (the child could be killed in a split second if that family is in an accident) and I've never had a dispatcher seem like they were annoyed that I used 911. Usually, they thank me for reporting it and I've had a few say they wish more people would.

 

[clgwli]

Had he not had his seat belt on he would have been killed instantly-flipping out of the convertable.

We always wear our seatbelts, the kids and I that is. For whatever reason DH seems to think when we are not in the car he doesn't need to wear one. We have the camera system in one of our cars from our insurance company and he has been caught on that several times. Good thing we have a will and good life insurance . He KNOWS better than that. We now have a manditiory seat belt law and I know he will get pulled over and then whine about the $300 fine.

Actually you are quite wrong. the three not wearing survived because they were thrown from the car instead of being trapped under it without a roof. The worst injury of the three was a broken hip bone. Two were barely hurt. Two of them (one was the one who died) were very close friends to me in high school and I will never forget this accident. I lost a guy who was like a brother to me due to an under aged driver showing off.

I am sorry but that kind of annoys me when strangers make assumptions about facts that are far from truth.

I said even knowing this we all (even his family) always use seatbelts. As much as I like convertibles I just do not trust any soft top or one when it is down. Same with motorcycles. I'd love to have these vehicles but i know too many who have gotten seriously hurt because of lack of real protectoins

 

[Pixiedust34]

We always (always!) wear seatbelts. In fact, I don't put the car in drive until everyone is buckled up.

On a related note, one of my biggest pet peeves is seeing small kids who should be in an infant/toddler/booster seat riding completely unrestrained.

 

[sacall]

We always do and everyone in my car is required to. My husband was in a crash before the kids were born and the seat belt saved his life.

I was in a crash six weeks before my wedding and survived because of my seatbelt. I was clipped by another car going 70 mph on the expressway. I overcorrected, did a 180, hit grassy side of the freeway, flipped my car and finally came to a rest about 300 yards from where I flipped. Because I was wearing my seatbelt, I simply ended up hanging upside down in my car.

If I had not worn my seatbelt, I would I either been ejected from my car (all the windows had blown out on impact from the flip) or crushed my head. As it turned out, all I had was a cut on my shoulder from the seat belt. As I was hanging upside down, I could see people running to the car and hear them yelling "call 911". When I finally figured out how to unbuckle my belt without hitting my head and crawled out my window, people were amazed. They could not believe I was alive and walking.

So yes, if you get into my car, you wear a seat belt. I will show pictures of that car to anyone who thinks that seatbelts don't save lives. If I know how to post pictures, I would post them! The only bummer was the car was totalled and that was a brand new 1994 Saturn, we had only had it for a couple of months!

Stacy

 

[jamimb]

Growing up none of us wore seatbelts. It wasn't law then and so we just didn't do it. When I was fifteen my mother (she was only 34) and sister (6) were killed in a car accident. We were told that had they been wearing a seatbelt they would have survived. My sis was in the backseat and was thrown clear out of the car through the windshield and landed about 25 feet from the car. My dad (who was also in the car not belted but survived with injury because the stearing wheel caught him) said she was alive and crying when he got over to her (she died on the way to the hospital) That image has haunted me for years and my kids will never ever get in a car without a seatbelt!!!!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

We always wear them.

When I was a kid in the 60s/70s, not a lot of cars had them, then not a lot of people used them. A friend of mine in college in the early 80s convinced me to start wearing mine.

Then we were in an accident together in my car, hit on the passenger side. The passenger door was pushed all the way over the passenger seat and was touching the right side of the driver's seat. Everyone who looked at that car couldn't believe the passenger wasn't killed. Even seat belted, it looked as though the door would have crushed her, but the seat belt gave enough that she ended up sort of half on my lap. Bumped her head on the steering wheel, small concussion, no other injuries. The firefighters said she'd have gone through the window if she hadn't been belted in.

 

[lil mermaid]

I hear people say this as an argument against seat belts, and I have to wonder, statistically, how does a person actually know several people who have perished in this manner? The number of people killed in accidents in this manner has to be small in comparison to overall accident deaths. For one person to know multiple people who have been in such an accident seems to be hard to believe.

It is hard to believe. So hard to believe, that I don't believe it.

Also, this poster (who stated that she doesn't wear a seatbelt but requires her children to) should have her children in booster seats, not seatbelts. They are only 4 and 5.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I wear mine, all occupants in my vehicle are required to be properly restrained as well. At all times. No exceptions.

I've always been taught to wear mine, even as a young child. I grew up in a family of public safety personnel and I became an EMT over 18 years ago. If I wasn't absolutely sure that wearing my seat belt would safe my life I would have been extra convinced the first time I went to an MVA. And if there was any doubt left that one accident a number of years ago where I held the hand of a man in his early 20s who'd been thrown from a truck would have erased it completely. Sadly, I had to step around some of his brain as I was reaching him on the scene. He is still alive, but has no life. Heart-wrenchingly sad. That memory will remain with me forever.

Further, I rear-faced my ds as long as I possibly could. I will continue to harness him as long as I possibly can. He will remain in a booster until he can pass the 5-step test. As will any and all other children who ever are in my vehicle.

Accidents are the leading cause of death to age 18. Wearing our seatbelts, being good role models for our children, expecting all occupants to wear them as well, and properly buckling up our children (to the limits of each step) is our responsibility as a parent. It makes me nuts that parents run out to buy BPA-free bottles because regular old plastic ones aren't safe, but they are more than happy to turn their 1 year old forward facing because it's 'easier'.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Oh, and just to clarify since it was mis-stated earlier:

Connecticut's law states that children must remain in a harnessed car seat or a booster seat until they are at least OVER 6 (meaning they have reached their 7th birthday) AND are 60lbs both.

 

[Feralpeg]

Actually you are quite wrong. the three not wearing survived because they were thrown from the car instead of being trapped under it without a roof. The worst injury of the three was a broken hip bone. Two were barely hurt. Two of them (one was the one who died) were very close friends to me in high school and I will never forget this accident. I lost a guy who was like a brother to me due to an under aged driver showing off.

I am sorry but that kind of annoys me when strangers make assumptions about facts that are far from truth.

I said even knowing this we all (even his family) always use seatbelts. As much as I like convertibles I just do not trust any soft top or one when it is down. Same with motorcycles. I'd love to have these vehicles but i know too many who have gotten seriously hurt because of lack of real protectoins

They were very lucky. There isn't a morning that goes by here that they don't report some horrendous crash in Central Florida on the news. The vast majority of the time, the people who died were ejected from the vehicles. I'm very sure there are some cases where seatbelts do not help or maybe, contribute to the injuries, but those cases are few and far between.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Growing up none of us wore seatbelts. It wasn't law then and so we just didn't do it. When I was fifteen my mother (she was only 34) and sister (6) were killed in a car accident. We were told that had they been wearing a seatbelt they would have survived. My sis was in the backseat and was thrown clear out of the car through the windshield and landed about 25 feet from the car. My dad (who was also in the car not belted but survived with injury because the stearing wheel caught him) said she was alive and crying when he got over to her (she died on the way to the hospital) That image has haunted me for years and my kids will never ever get in a car without a seatbelt!!!!

I am so sorry.

 

[DizBelle]

Any parent who does not wear a seatbelt obviously doesn't care very much about their children since they are willing to (greatly) increase the probability of leaving them without a parent. It makes me wonder why they had children in the first place.