Well I don’t understand why people don’t wear seat belts. Isn’t that even illegal? In Germany the driver can be hold accountable for people not wearing the seat belts.
Child mentality. They claim the seatbelt is annoying on the neck or big government things. Perhaps, but being an adult is also about doing what is nessesary for you and your family.
I’ve even seen people try to say it’s somehow more dangerous because of ridiculous anecdotal experience like “Well I knew this guy who got into a massive roll over accident while drunk and he couldn’t escape because of his seatbelt”. Yeah man the seatbelt was the problem here…
There are some extreme scenarios where this is true, and it gets inflated and conflated when arguing against seat belt laws.
It’s all a game of numbers at the macro level, and seat belts save far more lives than they potentially damage. The math has checked out and been backed up over and over and over again for 70+ years and the result is always the same: Seat belts overwhelmingly increase your chance of surviving a car accident.
The edge cases, while there, are not worth risking a surefire death or dismemberment under the vast majority of conditions.
Not that these extreme scenarios are always told from the perspective of the idiot that survived despite not using a seatbelt.
First responders and ER doctors disagree on these accounts. Vehicles are literally designed to collapse around the passengers. That doesn’t work if the seatbelt isn’t keeping them in the safety zone.
I’m not disagreeing with you in any way, but things like ejecting a person out of a vehicle before it bursts into flames, where they woke up and the vehicle was on fire, and they would have been unconscious and burned alive in other scenarios.
Same with the drowning argument of being unable to get out of the seat belt due to panic.
In every one of these scenarios, it’s extreme and the possibility of it happening is so remote it’s not worth considering. But it still comes up in the “argument” (speaking from experience arguing with someone who was anti-seat belts for years).
All I was highlighting is that if we’re going to be able to argue with the people who believe this stuff, we have to acknowledge the extreme edge case view they hold as theoretically possible under the most absurd conditions; and then that allows us to move forward in the conversation to convince them that the odds of something like that happening to them vs the seat belt saving them are so remote they may as well plan to win the lottery 8 times in a row.
I say this from experience, that’s what finally allowed me to break down the walls of my anti-seat belt acquaintance over months/years of arguing. He’s wearing a seat belt now, even though he still snarks about it. But it keeps him safe, and deep down, he understands that now because I took the time to acknowledge that his concerns, while theoretically possible, were not real concerns for anyone in the world to think about on a day to day basis anymore than worrying about getting struck by a meteorite would be.
If the seatbelt is bothering your neck, you’re not wearing it properly. Most seatbelts are adjustable or are designed to bit over the shoulder by even short passengers.
In the US, the specifics depend on the state. It’s often not “primary enforcement”, which means you can’t be pulled over specifically for that, but it can be added on when pulled over for something else. In some states, yes, the driver can be held responsible for passengers not having seatbelts on. It may also matter if the passenger is a minor.
Possible case : me.
I often forget my seat belt. Fortunately, most people remind me about it and then I immediately fasten it.
The reason is simple. I think I use a car, always as a passenger, like 3 times a year. When I used to drive, it was such an automatic gesture I’d never forget it. But it’s so easy to forget when it becomes very rare. Everything is hypnotizing when you enter a car. I’m glad the driver reminds me, but I could be OP’s lost one.
In the US, it’s usually a misdemeanor even for passengers (depends on state though). Considering what’s at stake above and beyond a ticket, I chalk it up to garbage risk assessment skills.
Well I don’t understand why people don’t wear seat belts. Isn’t that even illegal? In Germany the driver can be hold accountable for people not wearing the seat belts.
Child mentality. They claim the seatbelt is annoying on the neck or big government things. Perhaps, but being an adult is also about doing what is nessesary for you and your family.
I’ve even seen people try to say it’s somehow more dangerous because of ridiculous anecdotal experience like “Well I knew this guy who got into a massive roll over accident while drunk and he couldn’t escape because of his seatbelt”. Yeah man the seatbelt was the problem here…
There are some extreme scenarios where this is true, and it gets inflated and conflated when arguing against seat belt laws.
It’s all a game of numbers at the macro level, and seat belts save far more lives than they potentially damage. The math has checked out and been backed up over and over and over again for 70+ years and the result is always the same: Seat belts overwhelmingly increase your chance of surviving a car accident.
The edge cases, while there, are not worth risking a surefire death or dismemberment under the vast majority of conditions.
Not that these extreme scenarios are always told from the perspective of the idiot that survived despite not using a seatbelt.
First responders and ER doctors disagree on these accounts. Vehicles are literally designed to collapse around the passengers. That doesn’t work if the seatbelt isn’t keeping them in the safety zone.
I’m not disagreeing with you in any way, but things like ejecting a person out of a vehicle before it bursts into flames, where they woke up and the vehicle was on fire, and they would have been unconscious and burned alive in other scenarios.
Same with the drowning argument of being unable to get out of the seat belt due to panic.
In every one of these scenarios, it’s extreme and the possibility of it happening is so remote it’s not worth considering. But it still comes up in the “argument” (speaking from experience arguing with someone who was anti-seat belts for years).
All I was highlighting is that if we’re going to be able to argue with the people who believe this stuff, we have to acknowledge the extreme edge case view they hold as theoretically possible under the most absurd conditions; and then that allows us to move forward in the conversation to convince them that the odds of something like that happening to them vs the seat belt saving them are so remote they may as well plan to win the lottery 8 times in a row.
I say this from experience, that’s what finally allowed me to break down the walls of my anti-seat belt acquaintance over months/years of arguing. He’s wearing a seat belt now, even though he still snarks about it. But it keeps him safe, and deep down, he understands that now because I took the time to acknowledge that his concerns, while theoretically possible, were not real concerns for anyone in the world to think about on a day to day basis anymore than worrying about getting struck by a meteorite would be.
If the seatbelt is bothering your neck, you’re not wearing it properly. Most seatbelts are adjustable or are designed to bit over the shoulder by even short passengers.
In the US, the specifics depend on the state. It’s often not “primary enforcement”, which means you can’t be pulled over specifically for that, but it can be added on when pulled over for something else. In some states, yes, the driver can be held responsible for passengers not having seatbelts on. It may also matter if the passenger is a minor.
Primary enforcement of seatbelt laws tends to make it more likely for black people to be pulled over. It’s amazing how many good ideas get ruined by racism once you dig into the details.
Possible case : me. I often forget my seat belt. Fortunately, most people remind me about it and then I immediately fasten it.
The reason is simple. I think I use a car, always as a passenger, like 3 times a year. When I used to drive, it was such an automatic gesture I’d never forget it. But it’s so easy to forget when it becomes very rare. Everything is hypnotizing when you enter a car. I’m glad the driver reminds me, but I could be OP’s lost one.
Yup, it’s on the driver to ensure everyone is belted. I do it every time, and the car doesn’t move unless everyone is wearing their seatbelt properly.
In the US, it’s usually a misdemeanor even for passengers (depends on state though). Considering what’s at stake above and beyond a ticket, I chalk it up to garbage risk assessment skills.