There is something that bothers me about; CLICK IT OR TICKET!

[DawnCt1]

Years and years ago, NY had a wonderful and silly (I thought) ad for seat belts. You'll have to supply your own music since I can't sing here...but the lyrics went something like...

Belt your sister, la di dah
Belt your brother, la di dah
Belt your grandma, la di dah....

and so forth.

I don't mind that ad. It's "benevolent". Kind of like. "Buckle up for safety, buckle up. Buckle up for safety, always buckle up. Show the world you care by the belt you wear, buckle up for safety, etc.

 

[Charade]

Last Friday I was cruising thru town when I saw the "seatbelt enforcement zone" and before I knew it, I was being yelled at to pull over.

The kind officer informed me they would be finished real soon and I would be on my way. $55 later I had my very own ticket. stupid-stupid-stupid...

wear yer belt - wear yer belt - wear yer belt...

Just so people aren't confused. I agree with seatbelt laws and enforcement (by a fine).

 

[buzzlady]

I think the ticket here in NJ is $130. and that's per person in the car. But I would bet you get a surcharge from the state after that.

As of May 2004, the fine in NJ for not wearing a seat belt was $42. I know becuase I sent the check in for my DH . It's not a moving violation and there was no surcharge.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

How about click it or DIE?

 

[Beastlover]

wear yer belt - wear yer belt - wear yer belt...

Just so people aren't confused. I agree with seatbelt laws and enforcement (by a fine).

I agree too, for some reason, I never got into wearing it...I actually used to "click" the seatbelt button to get it to stop dinging!! THAT is what I mean by stupid, stupid, stupid!!

And yes, I wear it all the time now!!

 

[DawnCt1]

wear yer belt - wear yer belt - wear yer belt...

Just so people aren't confused. I agree with seatbelt laws and enforcement (by a fine).

I will play devil's advocate here. Consider that those who chose not to buckle up could be be recipients of the Darwin Award and ultimately improve the gene pool. Perhaps there shouldn't be a fine unless failure to buckle in some way results in an accident or an injury to another person. How is not wearing a seat belt any worse than any other type of risky behavior that ADULTS engage in that could result in death. Riding motorcycles, sky diving, bungie jumping, eating fast food all come to mind. That leaves open the door to enforcing seat belt laws on all minor children but permits adults to vie for the Darwin award.

 

[bettyann29]

I dont think there is anything wrong with it.. It is very to the point and it should be.. its a law to wear your seat belt.. its not against the law to supersize your meal..

 

[DawnCt1]

.. its not against the law to supersize your meal..

No yet!

 

[Charade]

I will play devil's advocate here. Consider that those who chose not to buckle up could be be recipients of the Darwin Award and ultimately improve the gene pool. Perhaps there shouldn't be a fine unless failure to buckle in some way results in an accident or an injury to another person. How is not wearing a seat belt any worse than any other type of risky behavior that ADULTS engage in that could result in death. Riding motorcycles, sky diving, bungee jumping, eating fast food all come to mind. That leaves open the door to enforcing seat belt laws on all minor children but permits adults to vie for the Darwin award.

Did you see the movie "Along came Polly"? Ben Stiller played a risk assessment manager who had to assess Brian Brown who was into EVERYTHING *high* risk. Base jumping, sky diving, swimming with Great Whites, etc...

Point is, high risk activity SHOULD cost more to insure.

Driving around with bald tires won't necessarily lead to an accident but you should still get a ticket for operating an unsafe (history tells us that bald tires are more prone to accidents than good ones) vehicle. Depending on the state, you may NOT get one beforehand, but you would most likely get one if it was determined to be a contributing factor in an accident.

Disney won't let you ride BTMR, RNRC, TOT etc if you don't apply the restraints. They are mandated by law to have and enforce those restraints. Why are they (the government) not allowed to require you to put on your seatbelt, restrain your kids, or generally operate the vehicle in a safe manner as possible? Most accidents are caused by inattentive driving.

Just because a car doesn't whip you around like a coaster, being buckled up helps keep you behind the wheel and possibly still able to control the vehicle during an accident in addition to protecting you from additional injury.

 

[DawnCt1]

Driving around with bald tires won't necessarily lead to an accident but you should still get a ticket for operating an unsafe (history tells us that bald tires are more prone to accidents than good ones) vehicle.


Just because a car doesn't whip you around like a coaster, being buckled up helps keep you behind the wheel and possibly still able to control the vehicle during an accident in addition to protecting you from additional injury.

Bald tires should get you a fine/ticket because failure to maintain control of a vehicle, stop in an appropriate manner, etc. may cause injury or death to another person, either in your car or in another car. Failure to wear a seat belt only impacts the Darwin contestant.

 

[KristaTX]

There are too many people out there that wouldn't pay any attention to "benevolent" slogans about seat belts, or anything else for that matter.

 

[Rowena]

I believe in the consistant use of seatbelts. Have worn them since I was aware enough to do it myself. Our car doesn't move until the kids are buckled in. Seatbelts are good in our house.

However, it does get a little annoying when the government decides it needs to be our collective "parent" and regulate what we all do, from prohibition down to seatbelts. Some ideas are more good than condescending, but I don't really want laws that treat me like I'm a four-year-old. Child safety seats, drunk driving laws=good. Seatbelt and helmets on adults...a bit condescending.

I sometimes need to tell my DS10 that I'll be parent for my DD7 as he tends to "echos" me....I don't think I want the government trying to parent ME and my kids.

 

[Charade]

Failure to wear a seat belt only impacts the Darwin contestant.

Not true at all!

You are required by law to be in control of your vehicle at all times.

Being strapped in keeps you at the wheel. In case something like a big dip in the road, a pot hole, swerving to avoid something in the road, etc.., you're still at the wheel instead of being jarred from it. In addition to that, someone who's not belted in can be ejected from a vehicle and hit a pedestrian, crash into the another car or in front of it and cause THEM to have an accident.

 

[DawnCt1]

I believe in the consistant use of seatbelts. Have worn them since I was aware enough to do it myself. Our car doesn't move until the kids are buckled in. Seatbelts are good in our house.

However, it does get a little annoying when the government decides it needs to be our collective "parent" and regulate what we all do, from prohibition down to seatbelts. Some ideas are more good than condescending, but I don't really want laws that treat me like I'm a four-year-old. Child safety seats, drunk driving laws=good. Seatbelt and helmets on adults...a bit condescending.

.

I think we see this issue in the same light.

 

[DawnCt1]

Not true at all!

You are required by law to be in control of your vehicle at all times.

Being strapped in keeps you at the wheel. In case something like a big dip in the road, a pot hole, swerving to avoid something in the road, etc.., you're still at the wheel instead of being jarred from it. In addition to that, someone who's not belted in can be ejected from a vehicle and hit a pedestrian, crash into the another car or in front of it and cause THEM to have an accident.

While the scenario you have described may be an remote possibility, it's not one that I would think would occur very often.

 

[KristaTX]

I remember thinking how geeky seatbelts were when I was a kid in the 1970s and '80s. I never remember seeing anyone wear seatbelts until the mid '80s. Then I took driver's education and learned some physics. And so did a lot of my friends, who also became seat-belt wearers.

Nowadays almost everyone I see in cars has on a seatbelt. Do you think people are just simply more safety-aware now? Or is it because of seatbelt laws that states have passed? Or is it a combination of law and a general cultural awakening about safety? It seems it must be a combination. If the laws that states have passed have had such a tremendous effect on seatbelt usage, then the laws are overall a huge benefit so society - despite flaws, inconsisitencies, insurance companies, etc. I can understand questioning the advertising methods, hidden agendas, outrageous fines, etc - but questioning the basic law baffles me .

 

[Tiggeroo]

Has this changed in NJ?

I don't know. I've never gotten a seatbelt ticket. I have a major issue with the NJ surcharge system though. Failing to renew a license by one day does not deserve a 3yr surcharge. In NJ any number of tickets generate a surcharge. The state has a whole surcharge division of motor vehicles where we pay folks to handle the collection of these fines. And when you go to dmv to pay it this is always the longest line. And if you miss a payment and they suspend your license you pay $130. to restore it. The statistics are very high that most drivers on a surcharge plan will miss at least one payment. And many of these surcharge violations generate insurance points.
Insurance is a big pet peeve of mine. I have 5 drivers on my policy. We had the same insurance company for many years. Like i said no accidents no tickets. Fluke, two different drivers had an accident in one year.(recently). Minor accidents, under 2,000. This has generated 10 insurance points. Now I am on the state insurance plan, paying a big bunch of money and have to stay there for 3 years. And I paid to insure 3 vehicles with no accidents for over 20 years. This one big reason to not live in NJ.

 

[poohandwendy]

Is anyone else annoyed with the Big Brother campaign??

Seatbelt laws are no more 'big brother' than any other driving laws. Driving laws are about safety, period. Why is it illegal to speed? Or to run a red light? Or park close to a fire hydrant? Because doing these things can cause potentially unsafe conditions. The same with seat belt laws, they are about safety.

The laws do not apply only if your breaking them will cause another person to be harmed, but you as well. Ie, it's not legal to run a red light if there is noone else on the road. The laws are set up to create the most consistently safe conditions possible for ALL.

As to the 'campaign', it doesn't bother me. Wearing a seatbelt, unfortunately, still seems to be something people need to be reminded of. Even with all of the statistics known, people still seem to 'forget' to buckle up. Police are the ones who deal with the results of that. So, I can see why they would want to push the issue. I see this as nothing but another reminder as to why it is beneficial to buckle up.

Btw, I live in PA and I think it is horrible that they reversed the helmet laws. I see nothing beneficial in reversing a law that saved lives much more than it impeded the comfort of the driver. JMHO

 

[Charade]

Even with all of the statistics known, people still seem to 'forget' to buckle up.

Funny thing... I sometimes forget to zip up but I NEVER forget to buckle up.

 

[poohandwendy]

Nowadays almost everyone I see in cars has on a seatbelt. Do you think people are just simply more safety-aware now? Or is it because of seatbelt laws that states have passed? Or is it a combination of law and a general cultural awakening about safety? It seems it must be a combination. If the laws that states have passed have had such a tremendous effect on seatbelt usage, then the laws are overall a huge benefit so society - despite flaws, inconsisitencies, insurance companies, etc. I can understand questioning the advertising methods, hidden agendas, outrageous fines, etc - but questioning the basic law baffles me .

I think public awarenesss came about when hospitals started requiring parents to bring their babies home in carseats, when shows like 20/20 started showing statistics about the benefits of seatbelts in auto accidents and the crash dummy commercials.

I think the seatbelt laws actually started after the public awareness campaign. I think safety awareness is what influenced many poeple to buckle up on their own...then the laws being passed is an incentive for the rest to follow suit.