Wear your seatbelt!

[masterofpuppets]

Seatbelts are like helmets on a motorcycle - sure, you don't need them....... until you need them. I could ride my bike on a hot summer day with either with a half helmet (equivalent to wearing your seatbelt without the shoulder strap) or no helmet at all and be more comfortable. But if I went down, I sure as hell want a full shell around my head. I'd rather walk away bruised and pissed off then not walk away.

[TAG UR IT]

Originally Posted by speedster

.

Anyway, TAG is speaking from the heart. Not a bad person to listen to.

Thanks for the kind words. I honestly hope I didn't come off rude. I am trying to be blunt and to the point, but not in a mean manner. I just want to get a message across.

I speak it all the time. I see it all the time. (*idea*)GOD, I WISH I could have taken a picture of the windshield of a car where the 18 year old passenger wasn't wearing his seat belt and flew forward into the windshield when they rear ended the car in front of them. His head wasn't cut up. In fact, he was complaining of his head hurting and he was all walking around...kinda in shock...fine... But, when I asked him if he was wearing his seat belt,

he said, "yes."
I said, "yes?"
He said, "yes."
I replied, ".......dude.....(cause I always say that).....do you really expect me to believe that?"
He replies, "well....I mean, I was..."
"Well then...Toyota better be ready for another lawsuit since their seat belt obviously didn't work. I mean...the insurance company is REALLY going to want this SUV since the seat belt didn't work in the manner in which it was designed to work. They are going to be studying this car."

I looked back at him and looked back at the car where there was this BIG outward cracking of the windshield from an obvious shape of a head.

"One thing I hate is when people lie to me. I mean...I think you learned your lesson....WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT....and I'm not going to write you a ticket if you weren't. Why? Because looking at that windshield, I think you just cheated death. And, if I wrote you a ticket, it would be redundant because the fact that you are standing here before me today shows that someone up above us wants you here. Writing tickets helps people to get the point....but I think you just got that point. Now...I want to know...were you or were you not wearing your seat belt."

"uh...well...."

"I'm not going to write you a ticket."

"Ok...(long pause)....no. I wasn't. But, that's never going to happen again."

"I know. I can't believe your neck didn't snap. You'd be a quadriplegic right now. I'm amazed."


I WISH I had a pic of that windshield. I was honestly amazed.


-----------

And I'm sorry for being long winded on these. It's something I STRONGLY believe in. I was taught to wear them. I have been shown countless videos of why we wear them. I have been in accidents and know why we wear them. I mean. ...nevermind. I think everyone got my point.

But Speedster, thanks.

[Muscle Master]

Originally Posted by chutoyy

or this....

I'm still f*cked up by this !!!

[GtSmoke]

Was watching the video of the car hitting the wall in slow motion in another thread and it reminded me of something I read once in college. Just a slight reminder that seat belts work. I don't know who made this but it puts things into perspective.

Seven-Tenths of a Second

Look at your watch and see how long one second really is. If you have a stop watch, try to stop the stop watch at seven-tenths of a second. Now that you know how long that is, consider what happens in the first seven-tenths of a second when an automobile traveling 55mph hits a solid object and the driver is not wearing his/hers seat belt and shoulder belt.

In the first tenth of a second, the front bumper and grille collapse.

In the second tenth of a second, the hood crumples, raises and strikes the windshield while the rear wheels are lofted from the ground, still spinning at 55 mph. Simultaneously, the fenders begin wrapping themselves around the object that was just struck by the car. The frame of the car has stopped moving, but the rest of the car is still traveling 55 mph. The driver instinctively stiffens his legs against the crash and they snap at the knee joint.

During the third tenth of a second, the steering wheel starts to disintegrate in the driver's hands and the steering column is aimed at the driver's chest.

The forth tenth of a second finds the first two feet of the car's front end wrecked, the rear moving at 35 mph, but the driver's body still traveling at 55 mph.

In the fifth tenth of a second (a "split second"), the driver is impaled on the steering column and his lungs begin to fill with blood.

In the sixth tenth of a second, the driver's feet are ripped out of his shoes, the brake pedal snaps off and the car frame buckles in the middle. The driver's head smashes into the through the windshield as the rear wheels fall back to earth.

In the seventh tenth of a second, doors fly open, hinges rip loose and the seats break free, striking the driver from behind. The driver does not feel the seat striking him, because he is already dead!

A lot has happened in less than one second. Think about how long one second is the next time you decide not to wear a seat belt. Think about how long seven-tenths of a second is. Then think how long eternity is.

[KXRM]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

.........you, your unbelted body, and your out of control vehicle striking my wife's vehicle that is sitting in traffic with my wife in it and my 5 year old and 2 year old sons who then end up getting injured all because........

.....you don't like wearing your seatbelt.

.... Your decisions DO affect us.

I am so glad you made this point, I am so tired of hearing people whine about wearing something as simple a seat belt because of some personal liberty bullshit. I consider myself to be libertarian but when something effects others, laws and regulations need to be in effect.

Someone joy riding their bike doing wheelies down the road believes they only endanger themselves until their lifeless body flies into my windshield because they lost control.

Some think that seat belts are nanny devices but the reality is, you save yourself, and others around you. The stats don't lie. Sure a very small percentage of cases a belt may actually hinder your rescue, but in all likelihood the seatbelt got you alive to that point. You are more likely to survive an accident with one on then without one. You may have gotten lucky in the past by not wearing one, but that luck will run out one day.

[CamaroSkooter]

Blast from the past thread

[Lou_Dorchen]

It's still about personal choice. We are entitled (or we should be) to make stupid decisions. People fought and died so we could have the right to make our own decisions.

Do we need laws to protect people from themselves? If you answered yes, remember the big picture because by that logic you can lose ALOT of other personal choices.

[CamaroSkooter]

If a person is in a minor collision, say the speeds involved are around 30mph, the person wearing their seatbelt will remain firmly in their seat and completely in control of their vehicle. Whereas the person not wearing their seatbelt would get tossed around inside their vehicle, likely losing control in the process, and could potentially harm more people as a result.

So yes, wearing your seatbelt affects more than just yourself in a collision. And as such, the law requiring it is justified.

[Lou_Dorchen]

By that logic we should outlaw all fast cars as well. If it's fast enough to spin the tires, it's too fast. After all, people might lose control of them and harm people as a result. When you start taking away choices because of what might happen, you're opening yourself up for losing alot more choices.

[CamaroSkooter]

Originally Posted by Lou_Dorchen

By that logic we should outlaw all fast cars as well. If it's fast enough to spin the tires, it's too fast. After all, people might lose control of them and harm people as a result. When you start taking away choices because of what might happen, you're opening yourself up for losing alot more choices.

Bad analogy. Not all people can afford fast cars.

You're more than welcome to choose to not wear your seatbelt. But you are also obligated to pay the fine associated with not doing so

[rez333]

I love it! Beautiful and creative commercial!

[Lou_Dorchen]

No, it's a fitting analogy. If you can see it, that's on you. But if you just keep laughing at others who point out that our freedoms are disappearing, sooner or later they will take away freedoms you value and you wont find it so funny.

If you dont stand up when they take away freedoms you dont care about, dont be upset when others dont stand up when they take away ones you do care about.

[CamaroSkooter]

Originally Posted by Lou_Dorchen

No, it's a fitting analogy. If you can see it, that's on you. But if you just keep laughing at others who point out that our freedoms are disappearing, sooner or later they will take away freedoms you value and you wont find it so funny.

If you dont stand up when they take away freedoms you dont care about, dont be upset when others dont stand up when they take away ones you do care about.

Don't lecture me on freedoms

If you want to kill yourself, you're more than welcome to. But driving a car on a public roadway is not a right, it's a privilege. That's why you're required to take a test to be granted that privilege.

And since it's a privilege to drive a car on a public road, then you are required to abide by the laws set forth by the public road's owners/operators (i.e. state government) to be allowed to use that road.

So please, tell me again how you have the freedom to drive your car however you want

[Lou_Dorchen]

As long as you laugh at me for standing up for my freedoms, you're going to get a lecture.

I don't want to kill myself. But I dont want someone telling me what I have to wear in MY car that I bought with MY money that I made by working at MY job. You want someone to run your life, fine. But dont tell me how to live mine.

And as for it being a privelege and thus we have to allow them to dictate how we use it, you've fallen for their bs line. Who pays for the roads? We do. So don't tell me I have to pay for something, then give me all these intrusive rules I have to follow to enjoy what I paid for. You just wait, sooner or later they will come for the rights you value. When they do, remember what you've said here about personal rights.