Seatbelt Laws

[J Baxter]

I personally do not think it is any of the governments business.

 

[mobetter11]

Go and sit around a major hospitals emergency room for 24 hours or ride along with EMS and see some of the people that have been in automobile wrecks and not been wearing seat belts. If seeing the adult people won't get to you, wait until you see a child that has been mangled and killed because their parents didn't buckle them up. I think that seat belt laws are really good and the government should enforce them more.

 

[TXBobcat]

In my opinion, it should be your choice whether you want to wear one or not, unless you are under 18, then it should be manadatory.

Adults (18 or over) should be allowed to do as they please. If they are mangled in a wreck, then they have no one to blame but themselves - and they should not be treated for free when they get to the hospital either! In other words, they should be held responsible for the hospital bills they incur as a result of not wearing a seatbelt.

I believe the reason why the government has had to step in and mandate seatbelt/helmet laws is because people want to play but the don't want to pay. I don't believe the government really cares about our well being, but they know that wearing seatbelts results in less injuries in the event of an accident, thus, less people with serious injuries in the hospital.

Kind of like the helmet law in Texas. You can see by the language in this law that the legislators were concerned about unpaid hospital bills.

Effective September 1, 1997, persons at least 21 years old are exempt from wearing a motorcycle helmet if they:

- have successfully completed a motorcycle safety course, or
- are covered by a health insurance plan providing the person with at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of an accident while operating or riding upon a motorcycle

 

[dun]

If they are mangled in a wreck, then they have no one to blame but themselves - and they should not be treated for free when they get to the hospital either! In other words, they should be held responsible for the hospital bills they incur as a result of not wearing a seatbelt.

But we know that would never happen because it's not the PC thing to do. In many ways I think that's why the gov has gotten into things that they shouldn't have had to. People unwilling to take responsibility and the lawyers wanting to sue (screw) at the drop of a hat.

dun

 

[docgraybull]

Adults (18 or over) should be allowed to do as they please. If they are mangled in a wreck, then they have no one to blame but themselves - and they should not be treated for free when they get to the hospital either! In other words, they should be held responsible for the hospital bills they incur as a result of not wearing a seatbelt.

I believe the reason why the government has had to step in and mandate seatbelt/helmet laws is because people want to play but the don't want to pay.

If they are mangled, then their hospital bill will undoubtedly be huge. How will a disabled person pay that? Speaking of disability (which you and I pay via Uncle Sam), if a person is mangled/disabled by a wreck and were not wearing their seatbelt, then should they be denied government disability "benefits"? I agree with you that people should take responsibility for their actions and the results thereof, but how can they meet financial obligations if they are disabled? People should be held responsible for our hospital bills whether we were wearing our seatbelts or not. It's our bill, we owe it. I also agree with you that a lot of government laws and policies are put in place to try and stop the hemorrhage of government money, and maybe with a little bit of our "best interest" in mind too.

 

[Ryder]

You make your decisions and I'll make mine. That's what freedom means.

 

[Campground Cattle]

I am with you Ryder. If they are such a good thing why aren't they on Texas school buses. Again its Big Brother sticking his nose were it doesn't belong. The War of Northern Aggression continues.

 

[catl]

Yeah, it seems like the govment won't be satisfied until they screw up everything and then put the blame back on us if it goes wrong.We have more gangs and thugs around because they know they can get by with it, with little or no punishment. Lost control of the children because it's wrong to punish them and if they live in a big city they grow up fast with no guidance . O.K. i'll shut up. Have a good night.

 

[cowgal]

(Excuse me while I express my strong feelings on this one)

Someone had to save the stupid and wreckless people from themselves. Not to mention children that are at the mercy of their parents' "good judgement" and the fact that we are all at the mercy of the weather and screwballs that should not be allowed on the road.

Why do I feel so strongly? My mother was killed in a car accident and likely would have survived had she been wearing her seatbelt. My 5 year-old sister, who was not belted in--1977 wasn't required, was thrown from the vehicle and must have been saved by angels as she was only a little scratched and bruised. I was 11 months and was fastened in a car seat and was retrieved hanging upside down in the wreckage--just needed a bandaid. Not another wreckless driver--not a drunk driver--just dropped a wheel off a low shoulder and lost control.

I feel that seatbelts are a great idea for those who value life, and if it is up to the dam@@d government to knock some sense into or inconvenience us--then I say "they may suck, but in some small way they must care!"

 

[mobetter11]

I am with you Ryder. If they are such a good thing why aren't they on Texas school buses. Again its Big Brother sticking his nose were it doesn't belong. The War of Northern Aggression continues.

Been on all school buses in Texas? The newer buses have them.

 

[MULDOON]

I agree that seatbelts are a goodthing, I don't agree that the Government
should pass laws making us put them on!
We play a game with our kids , When we get in the truck , the first person to get their seatbelt on wins.
It really helps , my 5 yearold wants to win so bad , that whenever she gets in a truck , (vehicle) that's the first thing on her mind.
When the law first came out , I didn't like it , and I got a few tickets,
Maybe the revenue from no seatbelt tickets should be applied to hospital
bills , instead of greedy government? ;-)

 

[Campground Cattle]

I am with you Ryder. If they are such a good thing why aren't they on Texas school buses. Again its Big Brother sticking his nose were it doesn't belong. The War of Northern Aggression continues.

Been on all school buses in Texas? The newer buses have them.

No I haven't been on all the school busses in Texas tell me about them.
So only some of our kids are worth trying to save in districts that can afford new buses. It's a law about money not safety it is another way for the feds and state to generate income . If it was about safety every school bus in the state would be equiped with them not just a few.
The irony here is the guy that just passed on his motorcycle with no helmet ( no seatbelt required) is safer than I am in a Ford 250. Our Children need to be protected when riding with you not when they are riding with the school district. Law kinda talks out both sides.

Seat belt law kinda takes the democratic view, we will tell you how we want you to live.
I take the view its my truck as long as I obey the laws of the road I am not endangering anyone but myself.
Nuff Said

 

[sidney411]

Can someone tell me if in Texas you drive a 1 ton or bigger vehicle that you do not have to wear your seatbelt? I know this used to be the case but am not sure anymore. My truck has an annoying BEEEEP!!! every few seconds if I don't put my belt on. It really helps to remind me to put it on.

 

[J Baxter]

To the horror of several of you. I grew up riding in the back of a pickup and standing in the front seat next to my dad and grandad. Very few of the vehicles back then even had seatbelts. I know that they are a good thing and I'll wear mine when I think about (usually bad conditions), but I just don't think that I need to be told to wear them. It is another government money making scheme.

The government never ceases to amaze me....do you wrecken that there is more lives lost to eat fast food or tobacco use than to lack of seatbelt use? Both of them are still legal because they are big money makers for the government. If they are so worried about my/our health why don't they take away our cigarettes and chewing tobacco and close McDonalds?


Its all about the dollars. Seatbelts weren't making the government any money and they had to change that.

JB

 

[TXBobcat]

If they are so worried about my/our health why don't they take away our cigarettes and chewing tobacco and close McDonalds?

JB

Let's not get irrational now! :shock: :shock:

 

[mobetter11]

To the horror of several of you. I grew up riding in the back of a pickup and standing in the front seat next to my dad and grandad. Very few of the vehicles back then even had seatbelts. I know that they are a good thing and I'll wear mine when I think about (usually bad conditions), but I just don't think that I need to be told to wear them. It is another government money making scheme.

The government never ceases to amaze me....do you wrecken that there is more lives lost to eat fast food or tobacco use than to lack of seatbelt use? Both of them are still legal because they are big money makers for the government. If they are so worried about my/our health why don't they take away our cigarettes and chewing tobacco and close McDonalds?


Its all about the dollars. Seatbelts weren't making the government any money and they had to change that.

JB

So did I, but there are alot more people and vehicles on the road today in 2005, and the speed limits are alot higher, most people if the speed limit is 70 they are driving 80 to 90. Also, back then they didn't have cell phones for the goof balls to talk on and not pay attention while they were driving either. Another thing, when I got a driver's license you had to take a state certified driver's ed. course, now, parents are teaching their kids how to drive and lieing about how many hours the kids have driven so that the kid can get a license.

No I haven't been on all the school busses in Texas tell me about them.
So only some of our kids are worth trying to save in districts that can afford new buses.

Remember this the next time the school district that you pay property taxes to has a bond election for more money to purchase items like buses. Vote yes for it, instead of no because you don't want you property taxes going up 4 or 5 cents for every 100 dollars of value.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Mobutter and Cattle gal ya'll seem to have a more liberal view of the world . There are a lot of socialist countries, we are not there yet. We are not far though, with citizens that think the government should control every aspect of there life. I don't need the government to tell me how I should live. Ticket the speeder or cell phone user or the guy eating the Mc Donald hamburger. Wearing seatbelts does not correct bad or unsafe driving.
Speed limits in the Sixties were 70mph and people were doing it in junk cars blowing blue smoke and you could throw a cat through the rust holes, not the well built auto's of today.
As far as the school districts go the Texas lottery money was supposed to have been ear marked for the education system in Texas Ha Ha. The districts should be swiming in money which they are not wonder were the money went to. Lot of it probably ended up in the welfare system for people that need the government to take care of them.

 

[ffscj]

I use seatbelts everytime I get in any vehicle but I don't want the government telling me to do so. Why? Because there is risk in every thing we do and there is no way to remove or regulate the risk out of life. So we all think that seatbelts are a good idea so let's say that everyone agrees so we make it a law. Nobody is upset. But lets say that I think that something you do is stupid and dangerous but you don't, is it right that I regulate your freedom to fit my beliefs? When I rode a motorcycle I always wore a helmet, when I rode a bycycle on the road I always wore a helmet but I will not wear a helmet when riding my horse. Some think that I'm an idiot but it is my decision. I have worked in EMS for nearly 27 years (including 6 years of part time flight medic on a trauma helicopter) and seen many ways that people hurt and kill themselves and you can't outlaw them all.
We each have to calculate our own level of risk and live our lives accordingly. If we allow the government to decide what's good for us then we will be told what to eat, where to go, what to wear, etc.....

 

[mobetter11]

What state were you in that in the sixties had a speed limit of 70? Don't you think that that seatbelt will help to save you from that unsafe cell phone using driver that plows into the back or side of your vehicle? As far as the Texas lottery goes, I don't know, I don't waste my money on lottery tickets. You might as well just drive down the road and throw your money out the window.

Compare the wreckage of the cars nowadays with the wreckage of the cars back in the 60's and 70's. Most cars nowadays will be totalled in the same type of wrecks. The only thing that make the cars safer and better today, are the airbags and seatbelts.

 

[dun]

I think the whole thing goes back to the earlier posts on the thread. If some idiot gets hurt and sin't wearing his seatbelt and my tax dollars have to pay for it, that just ain't right. Hold people responsible for their actions. If someone chooses to not use seatbelts so be it, but have him pay his own way back to health.

dun