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I know this is silly, and probably has already been discussed too much, but the reason for this page was to share (and document?) my random and wandering thoughts. So…
This weekend I was returning from a visit to the grocery store that is less than a mile from our house. I was in a hurry (had to get something for the dinner I was trying to be making at that very moment) so I hadn’t fastened my seatbelt, and really wasn’t going to. It’s such a short trip it kind of feels like just driving in my own driveway!
As I wrestled (very briefly) with whether or not to tether… I realized how insane it is that my state (yea, even my country) tell me that I have to wear it. Really? Should the government be regulating stuff that affects just a person’s own life? Does not wearing a seatbelt affect anyone but the wearer? (Or, non-wearer, I suppose…) 🙂
If pressed, I do say that I am libertarian (meaning, I don’t think the gov’t should be telling me what to do with my life) and in this I definitely am. Run campaigns, annoy people to no end, but do not make a LAW that makes them live up to a level of safety that some “larger group” thinks is “necessary” or should be “required”. That kind of thinking is truly anti-American – anti-liberty.
OK. Down from the soap box. For now.
Greg, I know you don’t really believe wearing your seat belt affects only your life, eh? Even if you are discounting the obvious effects it could have on your family/friends there are other factors: it may prevent you from being removed from your vehicle’s controls thereby possibly preventing you from hitting someone else if you vehicle keeps moving after an initial impact, it may prevent expenditures by emergency and healthcare personel should you survive but be injured in an accident, it will prevent increased insurance premiums, etc.
That said, I do find it kind of silly that some states will make you wear your seat belt, but you can ride a motorcycle in just a swimsuit and flipflops.
I don’t like anyone telling me what to do either. However, I’ve had two friends die because they weren’t wearing seatbelts, so, yea, I’m a big fan of buckling up anytime I get behind the wheel.
I thought I said this, but… I do buckle, and don’t mind it, and think it’s a smart thing to do.
What I DON’T think the pinheads in government should be doing is telling me or anyone else what they should do for their own lives. I understand why speed limits are posted, because reckless speeding affects people around you. But the arguments that Anonymous gave don’t carry any weight with me. Let people live their lives. Don’t protect them from themselves – unless it affects other people directly.
You can “educate” and get the word out all you want, but let people make their choices. Don’t make it a matter of breaking a law. Just silly.
Yeah, that was me, I just forgot to sign-off…sorry.
I think you might need to think of being allowed to pilot a several thousand pound piece of steel, plastic, and rubber at literally “break-neck” speeds across land that you don’t own but share with other motorists/pedestrians/whoever, as more of a priviledge allowed you if you can afford it and will play by the rules rather than a given, “let me live my life” entitlement. And one of the rules most states have chosen to implement is that you wear your seat belt. The first thing most insurance agents ask when you tell them you’ve had an accident is “Were all occupants wearing their seat belts?”
Also, not giving weight to indirect effects your actions have on others leads to things like climate crisis and outrageous insurance premiums. There are too many of us now to think/live like we’re in our own little bubble…you know…it’s that whole, tired “think globally, act locally” thing.
-heent
HEENT!!!! You must identify yourself! 🙂 (Although… I had an inkling…) 🙂
OK, so I still don’t like the government telling me what to do if it does not directly affect other people, and I think it’s a stretch to say since insurance premiums are raised by people not wearing seatbelts that I am affecting other folks…
BUT. Good points. It is a bit different to think of it as a privilege that involves maybe terms of membership. (I still don’t like it… but better somehow…)
I suppose if I could somehow drive without insurance that would eliminate the ins premiums argument… but it would be hard to not drive on any roads…
🙂
I’m pretty sure Virginia does actually let you “opt out” of vehicle insurance (if you’re willing to pay some crazy like $500 fee to the state). Maybe you should move on down?
-heent
It would be interesting to have these dialogues in person again… 🙂