Wear your seatbelt!

[CamaroSkooter]

Originally Posted by Lou_Dorchen

By your logic we indeed should outlaw porches, satellites, and landscaping equipment. So if the arguments are ridiculous, you need to ask yourself why you are using that exact logic to defend taking away some personal liberties but not others. It's gonna be real interesting to see how you react when liberties you value start getting taken away.

And again, it's not about seat belts. Or alcohol. Or guns. It's about personal freedoms.

Thanks for completely ignoring the first half of my post

Argument for seat belt laws:

"By not wearing one, you increase the odds of losing control of your vehicle in a collision and infrigning upon the liberties of others in a secondary collision."

Your argument against seat belt laws:

"SQUIRREL!"

[Rock36]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

EXACTLY.

Roll your eyes at what I'm going to say here should you choose. But, don't ignore the fact that a situation like this could happen. Or, better that, that similar situations like this have happened before in the past and will happen in the future.

------------

Say you are driving 45mph...doing everything right. Moron runs a stop sign coming from right to left and hits you in the back right corner panel causing the back end of your car to swing out to the left.

Physics would show that your body, since it's not secured in the vehicle with a seat belt (along with all the other objects in your vehicle), will try to stay in motion going forward...while your car goes forward and the back end out to the left. In other words, your body is now going to be hanging over your center console not in its normal position behind the steering wheel. Your vehicle will also change direction once wheels catch and redirect the car off to the right. After all, your feet are no longer in a position to get on the brakes and your hands are way over to the left not in a position to turn the wheel.

There are four people out for a walk on the right sidewalk (since it's such a pretty day and weather is great!). Heck, maybe they were walking to the intersection to cross the street at the pedestrian cross walk.

Your car, which is now out of control, is headed directly at dad, the wife, and the two kids...7 and 5.

Had you been wearing your seat belt, you would be behind the drivers seat where you belong, held in place by use of an ingenious device made soley for the purpose of saving lives (NOT JUST YOURS). You would be able to regain control of your vehicle....hitting your brakes, turning back to the left...thus, avoiding a major catastrophe.

However, since you were so intent on not wearing your belt, you were not able to regain control over your vehicle and you just veered off the roadway striking the 5 year old and 7 year old. They are dead. DEAD. The wife is sitting by their sides screaming...and the dad is in total shock.

You? You get out of your vehicle with your hands on your head..."Oh Lord...what happened..." Your side hurts...your leg hurts...

You turn and see the family...you look at the other vehicle...there's smoke coming from under the hood....debris all over the roadway...people are stopping their cars running to do whatever they can to help...people on phones calling for EMS and police.... someone's screaming, "Oh MY GOD!"

Sirens are off in the distance...

You look down and see two kids lying there...

One with open eyes not moving. The other is on his side...arms out in front...legs apart...little shoes lying several feet from him...

Two CHILDREN and now DEAD. NOT because you were t-boned. Because you weren't wearing a seat belt.

While getting struck was the initial act that began the chain of events, the matter of a seat belt, who's purpose is to save lives (again, not just yours), was not worn resulting in a situation where you, the driver, could not regain control over your vehicle.




Tell me I'm wrong.

Tell me I haven't seen people killed or hurt because others didn't wear their seat belts.

Tell me I haven't seen children...KIDS...who have been thrown from vehicles because mom and dad didn't bother to FORCE their kids to wear seat belts.

Tell me I haven't seen people sprawled across the highway due to failure to wear a belt.

Tell me I haven't seen the inside windshield bowed out due to an 18 year olds FACE being plunged into it...

Eight years...


I could go into stories....

I could tell you the heartache I've seen...

Saying, "for every story of it saving a life, there's a story where someone has died because of it"

To that, I say, "BULL SH!T." I'm sorry for getting upset about this, but this is something that I'm VERY passionate about...

Statistics, facts, and FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE do NOT lie.

While a seat belt has been known to keep someone in a car after an accident where the person needed to immediately escape resulting in the death of the person, it is NOT story for story.

MILLIONS of lives....have been saved due to the use seat belts. A HANDFUL of lives have been lost DUE to them.

Sir, I do not hate you. I do not dislike you. I'm sure we'd get along great would probably enjoy a back porch night talking cars....

But one thing I will never budge on....

Seat belts save lives. And sometimes, it's not all about YOU.

THIS

[Godsplumber]

"Give me liberty, or give me death" I would rather die or kill you or anyone else without a seatbelt on then give up one ounce of liberty. That is my opinion now. Will be yours in the future, guaranteed. I know you wont agree. But that is what is great about the freedom we have. And i and many others have fought and many have died to stop government from infringing on it.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Godsplumber

"Give me liberty, or give me death" I would rather die or kill you or anyone else without a seatbelt on then give up one ounce of liberty. That is my opinion now. Will be yours in the future, guaranteed. I know you wont agree. But that is what is great about the freedom we have. And i and many others have fought and many have died to stop government from infringing on it.

Let me guess: you think the Kennedy assassination was a cover up too?

[Godsplumber]

Originally Posted by stieger

Let me guess: you think the Kennedy assassination was a cover up too?

Yeah, cause everyone that doesnt agree with you is crazy, right

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Godsplumber

Yeah, cause everyone that doesnt agree with you is crazy, right

Never said that. Just asked a question about your thoughts on another highly debated topic.

[Lou_Dorchen]

Originally Posted by stieger

Never said that. Just asked a question about your thoughts on another highly debated topic.

And you're the second one to do that in this thread. Just because we disagree with you does not make us crackpots or conspiracy theorists.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Lou_Dorchen

And you're the second one to do that in this thread. Just because we disagree with you does not make us crackpots or conspiracy theorists.

Never said you were a crackpot nor did I say you were a conspiracy theorist.

I do have a question though: Why do not wear your seatbelt? Excluding the "I'm not going to let the Government tell me what to do" and/or "not going to let the Government step on my freedom" reasons.

I'm just curious to know if you actually have a reason, or if not wearing your seatbelt is your way of "rebelling"
against the Government.

[Lou_Dorchen]

Allowing children to be taken away by the Government is very serious. My parents (and others too of my generation) would be vilified as abusers by today's standards.

I rode around in the beds of pickups. I didn't wear a helmet or pads when I rode my bicycle and skateboard. I played pickup sports with other kids without pads and safety equipment. My parents let me play dodge ball. I turned out just fine. Would you consider my parents abusive? Should I have been taken from my parents because they didn't protect me?

[Godsplumber]

Originally Posted by stieger

Never said you were a crackpot nor did I say you were a conspiracy theorist.

I do have a question though: Why do not wear your seatbelt? Excluding the "I'm not going to let the Government tell me what to do" and/or "not going to let the Government step on my freedom" reasons.

I'm just curious to know if you actually have a reason, or if not wearing your seatbelt is your way of "rebelling"
against the Government.

never said i dont wear a seatbelt.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Lou_Dorchen

Allowing children to be taken away by the Government is very serious. My parents (and others too of my generation) would be vilified as abusers by today's standards.

I rode around in the beds of pickups. I didn't wear a helmet or pads when I rode my bicycle and skateboard. I played pickup sports with other kids without pads and safety equipment. My parents let me play dodge ball. I turned out just fine. Would you consider my parents abusive? Should I have been taken from my parents because they didn't protect me?

No. None of those fall under child neglect, child abuse, not endangering the welfare of a child.

[Godsplumber]

Originally Posted by Lou_Dorchen

Allowing children to be taken away by the Government is very serious. My parents (and others too of my generation) would be vilified as abusers by today's standards.

I rode around in the beds of pickups. I didn't wear a helmet or pads when I rode my bicycle and skateboard. I played pickup sports with other kids without pads and safety equipment. My parents let me play dodge ball. I turned out just fine. Would you consider my parents abusive? Should I have been taken from my parents because they didn't protect me?

According to todays voters and legislators, our parents and grandparent were and are unfit to raise us.

[Lou_Dorchen]

Originally Posted by stieger

Never said you were a crackpot nor did I say you were a conspiracy theorist.

I do have a question though: Why do not wear your seatbelt? Excluding the "I'm not going to let the Government tell me what to do" and/or "not going to let the Government step on my freedom" reasons.

I'm just curious to know if you actually have a reason, or if not wearing your seatbelt is your way of "rebelling"
against the Government.

My apolgies for not be clear. The other guy called people "crackpots". But you did ask if he thought the Kennedy assasination was a cover up.

My first car was a '73 Bug. It was very uncomfortable to wear the seatbelts, and plus it had no other safety features at all so it didn't matter much imo. As to now, I usually do wear it, and would regardless of the law. But there are times I dont want to. Sometimes I like to drive through the Hill Country on a cool night, let the windows down, and feel free. The seatbelt gets in the way of my enjoyment. It is what it is. Many motorcycle riders feel the same way about helmets. Again, I feel that's their personal choice. We had helmet laws in Texas, but they have since been repealed.

I'm 40. My days of rebelling for the sake of rebelling are long over. But I still value, and will stand up for, my freedoms.

[Lou_Dorchen]

Originally Posted by Godsplumber

According to todays voters and legislators, our parents and grandparent were and are unfit to raise us.

There was an old article I read once called something like 'Survived an 80s childhood? Consider yourself lucky.' It was about all the things we did as kids that are not allowed now because they are deemed too dangerous. It was a funny read.