seatbelt tickets.

[Andromeda]

I have a seatbelt ticket sitting in my wallet that is going to cost me about $57 odd bucks.... my good friend has a speeding ticket that comes to $60.
I don't know about everywhere else but I do know that is Calgary area seatbelt tickets are going up to $170. Thats more then the speeding ticket. If you ask me I really don't think that seatbelt ticket should be more then a speeding ticket. Its just stupid. I understand that seatbelts save lives. But it saves YOUR life and doesn't harm anyone elses. They should really be focusing more on crime and not giving out $170 seatbelt tickets.
I was in a bad car accident 2 months ago. If I were wearing my seatbelt...lets just say...I never would have found mysticwicks.

Ok thats all :) Had to get that out of my system

Blessings
Andromeda

[Spirahl]

I try to wear them, but sometimes I get mad that they are so uncomfortable. There are a lot of women out there that are 5'2" such as me, and it cuts me right across the neck. How is snapping my neck going to help me in an accident? I know the official stance is that I should be using the equivalent of a booster seat. Ya, right :rolleyes: ! Sorry, I refuse, and then there's the issue of boobs to contend with. I think the official stance is that you are not just in danger of harming yourself. You can be catapulted through the window and hit someone else like a cannonball, or just hit the street and become an obstruction on the road. This is one of thoses issues where I can clearly see both sides, and my opinion can change day-to-day.

[Amora]

Wow this just hit close to home!!! Two months ago I stopped to get gas at a station one mile from my house, I was wearing my seatbelt. I was in a hurry so I pumped it, paid and got in my car and left. (without buckling up again) As I pulled out a Trooper drove by me and turned around. He stopped me about two blocks from my house and gave me a $60 seatbelt ticket. I am so completely livid about it. I crumpled it up and threw it at the dashboard then screeched my tires as I left. Yes, irrational I know but I could've punched him.

That is the dumbest, stupidest law enforced! Therefore there is a warrant out for my arrest as of August 3rd because I refuse to pay that d*mn fine!

[Myst]

Originally posted by Spirahl
There are a lot of women out there that are 5'2" such as me, and it cuts me right across the neck. How is snapping my neck going to help me in an accident? I know the official stance is that I should be using the equivalent of a booster seat. Ya, right :rolleyes: ! Sorry, I refuse, and then there's the issue of boobs to contend with. I think the official stance is that you are not just in danger of harming yourself. You can be catapulted through the window and hit someone else like a cannonball, or just hit the street and become an obstruction on the road.

I'm 5'2" and chesty as well. Fact is I've seen the wreckage after someone who doesn't wear a belt gets in an accident (you could probably find some pics of this at rotten.com or steakandcheese.com) - ie. you're lucky if they can find all your body parts - and this is a constant reminder that a little bit of uncomfortableness can prevent a LOT of uncomfortableness in many cases. Of all the accidents I've heard of wherein people were seriously injured by not wearing seatbelts I've only read about one wherein the person was hurt BECAUSE she was wearing a seatbelt (and she didn't have it adjusted properly). By the way folks, seatbelts are adjustable and there are accessories you can buy to make them more comfortable (http://www.autobarn.net/seatbelad2pa.html for example).

[mol]

I wear my seat belt.

I just want to post this little tidbit.

My uncle was in a car wreck a long time ago...and the doctor told him that if he HAD been wearing his seat belt, he would have been dead. It would have broke his neck.

Now...

I was in a car wreck...almost went off a bridge because of a drunk driver. Instead I slammed into a parked construction vehicle at about 60 miles per hour. My head went through the windshield. The doctor said if I HAD been wearing my seat belt, I would have hurt my neck and had the concussion, etc.

So, in conclusion...

What was my point again?

[Andromeda]

I know what you mean I'm also short at 5'2. And it does cut across my neck (how that going to feel if I get in an accident) ouch. I always pull it down.

Yeah I do think seatbelts do save lifes.... but they do cause damage.....mol has 2 examples...and if I was wearing my seatbelt in the crash I'd be dead for sure.

When I got my ticket I just went to the store and I was organizing the bads so they wouldn't fall over...(I wasn't driving) but then I looked up and BOOM checkstop...me and my boyfriend both got nailed..

And tickets are going up./....170 dollars...its BS if you ask me. It is a stuid law to enforce....

[random]

Well, I wear my seatbelt when Im driving, which isn't too often, but, when im a passenger, I sit in the back of our van... the seatbelts aren't really seatbelts so i dont use it... but, then again, i've never been in a car accident. Well, its probably goign to happen some day... i've been in many bike accidnets though, let me tell you, if bikes had seat belts... that would just make them worse.

[Amora]

Just to throw this in I'm 5' so I have to pull my shoulder harness under my arm or it crosses my face. And that stupid air bag, it's a good idea but God forbid it ever go off or that would kill someone of my size for sure.

[sarhea]

I do not wear my seatbelt in a car, mostly because I'm a pretty...."large"(LOL) lady and I can fasten the seatbelt, only after much gyrating and yoga, and cusswords in several tongues*Smile* Would I if I could?*shrug* I used to when I drove, but not when I rode. don't really know why.*Smile*

[Yvonne Belisle]

I wear my lapbelt but i have to put the shoulder belt behind me. Even with the adapters I am too chesty for them. They slide over my front into my neck. I have talked with a number of police and showed them the problem they have told me it depends on the judge but if you did have the lap belt on and could show that the shoulder harness with adjustments was still life threatening that they will often dismiss the tickets. They did stress that you must at least be in the lap belt.

[Myst]

I think it's also important to stress the proper wearing of a seatbelt - the lapbelt for example should be across your lap and not across your belly (which is how the person I mentioned who got hurt because of her belt was wearing it).

I'm not worried about the judge myself ;) But ya gotta do what ya gotta do anyway.

[Semele]

Ok I will agree that the seatbelt law is a little silly in the regard that we are taking our own safety into our own hands so to speak. However I seriously frown upon officials or anyone else making a statement that had someone been wearing a seatbelt it would have killed them. That is pure speculation from anyones veiwpoint. There is absolutely no way to prove that. The fact is seatbelts do save lives....far more than they cause damage. I have seen accident victems with seatbelt bruises across their chest that look horrendous, however they were alive unlike the possibilities of a steering wheel in the chest or being thrown through the windsheild.

I hate my seatbelt..it is very uncomfortable, especially when mol is driving and frequently hits the breaks just as I am leaning forward!!! However I wear it religiously even if I am going two blocks because fact is an accident can happen anywhere at anytime. Also I can't very well enforce the seat belt rule on Trey if I am not wearing one myself. It is absolutely imperative that small children wear them and in the back seat I might add!!

Ok backing down off the soap box for a break!! Carry on!

[Rick]

Mandatory seat belt laws are not intended to save lives (that's a bonus side effect), they are enacted because of pressure from the all-powerful insurance lobby (the ones who don't want us to be able to sue our HMOs if they deny us medically necessary treatment). When traffic deaths go down, insurance profits go up, 'cuz they aren't paying out as many claims. Most auto safety issues are driven by profit, either by the auto manufacturers, or the insurance lobby.

Sad, but true...

[eaglewolf]

Granted, I spent merely 4 years as a law enforcement officer, but that time was well spent...

With all of my courses and on site traffic accident experience, I always wear my seatbelt (political conspiracy or not). In my experience, 98% of all traffic accidents are at speeds below 30 mph and are non-lethal.

Seatbelts should be worn more for protection against serious injury than for prevention of death.

One of my room mates was a traffic accident investigator, and 9 times out of 10, when you hear the "if you would have been wearing your seatbelt" statement it is merely speculation. Without being witness to the accident with exact trajectories at specific points of the accident, it is nearly impossible to make that assumption accurately.

Like I said, this is from personal observations, study and experience... seatbelts for me and mine. Getting into a car is always a crap shoot anyway, placing your life in the hands of strangers, having faith in the fact they won't cross the line as they speed by in the oncoming lane.

As for everyone else, do what ever you want to... just be prepared to pay $60 fine if you get caught... lol!

;)

~ew

[marevard]

Here, let me put my two cents in
Once upon a time, I was the person who 'cleaned up' after fatal crashes and such. I have only encountered three such times as when not wearing a seatbelt could of saved their life. More often than not, wearing a seatbelt is the best way.
Personally, I put mine on for the kids who are watching me. Lead by example. After all, tending to an accident that involes a child not in a seatbelt is not pretty. If they (law enforcement) hit the adults hard with tickets, prehaps they will buckle up their kids. Atleast that's the way I see it.

[Emerald Sky]

Yup, I've got to agree with Semele and EW. I always wear my seatbelt even if I'm just driving down to the end of the road... and anyone who rides in my car wears their seatbelt or they don't ride in my car. My ex-husband is also in law enforcement and has seen many nasty accidents. Seat belts save lives... oh, yeah, plus that little thing about it being the law.

[Rick]

No conspiracy, just truth.

In my 5 year stint as a firefighter, I responded to several fatality accidents. Of those, we extricated only 1dead person wearing a seatbelt (60mph rollover in a convertible MG with no rollbar). The others died from blunt trauma from being tossed about inside their vehicles.

EW, maybe back east in Urbanville most accidents occur under 30mph, but out here in the wide open spaces, where most folks commute 30-50 miles one way each day by car (public transportation is virtually non-existent), we only go 30mph or less in school zones & traffic jams. :D

[Emerald Sky]

Originally posted by Rick
No conspiracy, just truth.

In my 5 year stint as a firefighter, I responded to several fatality accidents. Of those, we extricated only 1dead person wearing a seatbelt (60mph rollover in a convertible MG with no rollbar). The others died from blunt trauma from being tossed about inside their vehicles.

EW, maybe back east in Urbanville most accidents occur under 30mph, but out here in the wide open spaces, where most folks commute 30-50 miles one way each day by car (public transportation is virtually non-existent), we only go 30mph or less in school zones & traffic jams. :D

Traffic jams? You have traffic jams out there in those wide open spaces? 8O

[Myst]

Originally posted by Rick
Mandatory seat belt laws are not intended to save lives (that's a bonus side effect), they are enacted because of pressure from the all-powerful insurance lobby (the ones who don't want us to be able to sue our HMOs if they deny us medically necessary treatment).

This may be true in the U.S., but here in Canada our health system is entirely different and we don't have HMO's. Therefore, it is a matter of safety :)

[MystyPines]

he he he, I received a ticket for not wearing a seat belt 2 weeks ago and mailed in a form, well just got the ticket fine of $65.00. Ugh! I always put my kids in their seat belts in the back seat, but I have never worn a seat belt myself. I was furious, but after thinking about it, I realized that I can't control other peoples driving and that wearing a seat belt will protect me and I want my children to have a mother for a long time. Yes, they are restricting, restraining, I can't reach the toll boths and have to slip it off every time. Oh well, my first ticket! Apparently it does not go against my drivers license in any way.

[EasternPriest]

Originally posted by Rick
Mandatory seat belt laws are not intended to save lives (that's a bonus side effect), they are enacted because of pressure from the all-powerful insurance lobby (the ones who don't want us to be able to sue our HMOs if they deny us medically necessary treatment). When traffic deaths go down, insurance profits go up, 'cuz they aren't paying out as many claims. Most auto safety issues are driven by profit, either by the auto manufacturers, or the insurance lobby.

Sad, but true...

Actually, mandatory seat belt laws have been around longer than mandatory insurance laws, and were based on studies done by the highway department. (at least in the US)

[eaglewolf]

Originally posted by Rick
EW, maybe back east in Urbanville most accidents occur under 30mph, but out here in the wide open spaces, where most folks commute 30-50 miles one way each day by car (public transportation is virtually non-existent), we only go 30mph or less in school zones & traffic jams. :D

LoL! Well, statistics always vary between communities/cities, that is a given...

Actually, the statistics for larger metropolitan areas of the country jumps to 99.2% of accidents are under 30mph and non-fatal. This number increases with population, as a national average. Of course some areas are exceptions (give and take)... fender benders, backing into parked cars, hitting telephone poles, hitting pedestrians, snow/ice related accidents, etc. all factor into these stats.

Many of these types of accidents go unseen or unreported. In as much, most accidents involving intoxication are below 30 mph as well. Of course, the most horrific and publicized accidents occur at speeds in excess of 30 mph.

~ew

[Yvonne Belisle]

All I know is that I have tried the adapters for kids and boosting myself up on pillows and it still slides to across my throat. When a friend hit her breaks I couldn't breathe well for several days and couldn't speak for 2 had we been hit I have no doubts due to the cuts left on my neck I would be dead now and I was using the adapters correctly I checked with a police officer as well.

[eaglewolf]

Originally posted by Yvonne Thomas
...When a friend hit her breaks I couldn't breathe well for several days and couldn't speak for 2 had we been hit I have no doubts due to the cuts left on my neck I would be dead ...

Situations vary between experiences, but I feel many people acquire an attitude about seatbelts which is speculative and unwarrented.

I am sorry to hear about what happened to you, but I would take this over a broken neck, shattered face plate or collapsed skull any day... these are all feasible outcomes w/out the seatbelt.

Not saying that it would have happened, because it is merely an opinion as is your view of certain death in a varied situation, but the chances of this are definately greater in the least.

LoL! Seatbelts or not, good luck to everyone... for in most cases, luck is all you have.

;)

~ew