1965 Seat Belts???

[64shortbox]

I absolutely HATE the seat belt law here in California. The law was put on the ballot twice and was voted down by the people both times. The good old CA government still forced it down our throats "to save lives" funny thing is the seat belt law has absolutely NOTHING to do with saving lives, it's about saving the insurance companys money period. It was the insurance lobby that got this law passed. Here's the kicker, 3 of my immediate family members survived 2 separate accidents because they were NOT wearing their seat belts. Had they been wearing their seat belts they would have been killed in the accidents. Admittedly they were both T bone accidents but wearing seat belts should be our choice & not mandated by the government or shall I say the insurance lobby.

[chevyrestoguy]

Originally Posted by 64shortbox

I absolutely HATE the seat belt law here in California. The law was put on the ballot twice and was voted down by the people both times. The good old CA government still forced it down our throats "to save lives" funny thing is the seat belt law has absolutely NOTHING to do with saving lives, it's about saving the insurance companys money period. It was the insurance lobby that got this law passed. Here's the kicker, 3 of my immediate family members survived 2 separate accidents because they were NOT wearing their seat belts. Had they been wearing their seat belts they would have been killed in the accidents. Admittedly they were both T bone accidents but wearing seat belts should be our choice & not mandated by the government or shall I say the insurance lobby.

Not to start an arguement, but do you actually believe that seatbelts can cause more deaths than they save?

I have been in some serious accidents in my 30+ years of being a driver and a passenger (never at fault, knock on wood). I have been in head-on collisions at 50 mph, center-punched a telephone pole and sheared it off at 35 mph, been t-boned in the middle of a high speed intersection, and had two severe roll-overs. I have to say that if I HADN'T been buckled in, I might not be typing this right now. One of the rollovers was down a steep embankment, and I surely would have been thrown out and crushed from my rolling car had I not been wearing a seatbelt.

I have had this discussion for years with friends who don't wear their belts. I have heard the "what if I get upside down in a raging river" and "what if I'm knocked and the car catches fire" reasoning and I just don't buy it. I grew up in a generation where nobody wore a seatbelt. I started wearing a seatbelt because I was in the military, and you couldn't come on base unless you were buckled in. At first, it felt weird to be wearing a belt. Once it became a natural habit and I did it every time I got in the car, I can't pull out of my driveway without naturally buckling up.

We all have our own reason to buckle up or not, but I am living proof that buckling up keeps you alive. I don't care if the State mandates them because I'll wear one if it's law or not.