Do you think officers should issue citations for not wearing seatbelts?

Sure, as long as you have the medical insurance to cover it and I’m not going to pay for your medical bills while you are in a vegetative state for 10–20 years….

Oh and don’t screw up my insurance premiums complaining about how badly your head hurts because it went through the windshield….you’re only allowed one short visit to the emergency room and that’s it….

Take note of the first sentence in the explanation. I could answer either way on this question, it was just something I was talking about with some officers. (I work at a police department.)

I was replying to the final portion of your prompt “If you want to have a higher risk of dying, shoudn’t that be your choice”... I meant the all encompassing “you” referring to the “your choice” portion. I’m glad you and I have made smart decisions when it comes to seatbelts :-)

haha ok. :) let’s start a club of smart people who enjoy our bodies in one piece.

No, the adult not wearing a seat belt doesn’t deserve a citation, he deserves a ticket.

When some asshole hits him, he flies out of his seat and loses control of the car, and then hits and kills pedestrians on the sidewalk, children on their bikes, and people wearing seat belts in other cars.

The better one is when they fly out of their seat, onto the child in the back seat, or the adult in the back seat lands on the child next to him, and kills and crushes the child, with their weight, and or suffocates them. That’s a pure joy, isn’t it?

Adults, no matter where they sit in the car, need to wear a seat belt for EVERYONE ELSE’S SAKE. Not wearing a seat belt is the most selfish self-centered thing an adult can do.

(a citation is a ticket…)

yes but only for the driver, who needs to maintain control of the vehicle in an accident, and, children.

I thought a citation was a ticket that was without a fine?

Hmmm… well I guess it depends on the PD. The one I work at just calls everything a citation… but then again they have to appear before municipal court judge before they are told how much they have to pay. I didn’t think about that. Sowwy.

I am of two minds on this one. One the one hand, unbelted adults injured in accidents increase costs (health care and insurance) for all of us. On the other hand, I thinks it’s kind of a slippery slope. Regulating personal responsibility because it affects others could eventually lead to outlawing all kinds of other behaviors: From skydiving and bungee jumping to smoking, drinking alcohol, and eating junk food. I don’t know what the answer is. BTW, I always wear my seatbelt.

Yeah I’m with you on that one Augustlan. I could go either way.

There are laws out there that are for people who are too stupid to otherwise do the right thing on their own. This is one of them.

Yes, they should issue citations/tickets to people who don’t wear their seat belts. I agree w/ previous posters.

I am really not concerned about whether or not you knock your noodle thru the windshielf per se. That is your choice. I want to take your choice away however, when YOUR poor choices affect me…..
via your flying body hitting my car or my kid who is a belted passenger in your car or having to pay for your care on Medicaid while you maintain yourself in a persistant vegatative state, making my insurance premiums rise b/c you are bleeding my insurance company, etc. etc.

Please tell the men and women in blue to ticket, ticket, ticket. As the signs say, “Buckle Up. Its the Law.”

If someone is driving a vehicle and their car gets bumped from the rear side and they are not wearing their seatbelt they are more likely to lose control of the vehicle causing loss of life. I think the driver should have to wear their seat belt as sure as they have to prove they know enough to drive.

Some times we need some walls. What do you think would happen if every kind of drug was legalized for example? Its our body right? Its our decision? I do think it’s appropriate for police officers to stop for not wearing seat belts. Safety First!

First off i always wear my seat belt, but i could really answer either way with this. I mean i was in an accident a month ago and the seatbelt probably saved me from more pain, but at the same time i know people who have been in accidents and died because they were wearing a seat belt. So really its all circumstantial. To me though it seems like the seatbelt law is just a way for cops to pull you over and look for more violations to write you up for. But ah well thats the law CLICK IT OR TICKET

@pixel i think if every drug were legalized there would actually be a decrease in drug ODs also drug related crimes would pretty much come to a screaching halt.

@uber How could someone’s death be caused by a seatbelt. I can understand how someone could die even though they were wearing at seatbelt….but how could someone prove that the seatbelt hastened their death?
Not saying it isn’t possible…I just don’t understand…?

in some instances they may have been stuck in their vehicle and then it caught on fire or something. I’ve heard that a few times actually up at work, but I never thought to ask why it saved their life.

@ snoopy – If someone is driving a vehicle and their car gets bumped from the rear side and they are not wearing their seatbelt they are more likely to lose control of the vehicle. You can’t control the cars steering or breaks if you have been removed from the seat. Now you’re forced over into on coming traffic and cant get your car back into your lane.

@ Snoopy – sorry i thought you meant by NOT wearing it.

That’s why you have a seat belt cutter/window hammer in your car. I have mine in the armrest between the seats. Zip Zip slice the belt. Bang bang break the window. Call me paranoid or call me prepared.

@Snoopy i knew a kid who was in a car with his dad when they got in an accident. He wasnt wearing his belt, but his dad was. He got thrown out of the car but his dad got stuck inside the vehicle and the belt was stuck. The car caught on fire and exploded. Now i know obviously isnt a common thing, but cases like this do happen.
I also know a couple of people who got damaged more due to their seatbelt and were told by the paramedics they would have probably been better off if they werent wearing one at the time of the accident.

@uber Thanks for sharing your story.

Sounds like rowenaz is on the right track w/ the cutter/hammer tool.

yea without a doubt a good thing to have in the car. I should probably look into getting a cutter. I do however have a sock in my car and plenty of change i could always bash the window with. I learned that on some discovery channel show, forget which one though.

The statistics on seat belt use are clear, which is why so many states have the laws. Seat belts save so many more lives plus so many life-altering injuries that there is no doubt it is safer to wear one.

Parents who don’t wear them while buckling their kids in are parents raising kids who won’t wear seatbelts as adults. Good going, Mom and Dad.

As to the dangers people have referred to such as submersion and car fires, the statistics are clear there too: that occurs only 1% of the time. So 1% seatbelt is a problem and 99% seatbelt is a great idea. What makes sense?

I say ticket! I feel the same way about that I do about helmet laws. Unless people sign a remove from life support if ever I am in an accident and in a vegetative state, then we all pay for their stupidity, which hardly seems reasonable.

“If 15 percent of Minnesota drivers buckled their seat belts as required, 200 lives could be saved and 400 would not suffer life-changing injuries.”

”COLLISIONS: Seat belts keep drivers and passengers from being ejected through windows or doors. This is important because your chances of being killed are five times greater if you are thrown from the vehicle.

BURNING OR SUBMISSION: Fewer than 1 per cent of all injury-producing accidents involve fire or submersion. Even in such cases, the chances of remaining conscious in order to free youeself and escape from the vehicle are greatly increased if you are wearing a seat belt.”

@uber: I’m not a statistician but I think the chances that someone is thrown from a vehicle with minimal injuries is much more unlikely than someone being hurt because of a seatbelt not releasing when needed.

Having been involved in a head-on collision at 60 mph on I-5 in CA, I can tell you that you will never know when the “unexpected” will happen…I am glad I wore my seatbelt that day as I do everyday.

I am not a huge fan of police oversight; but, given the high likelihood that wearing seatbelts will prevent injuries and the fact that it is the law in many states, why shouldn’t the police try to help the public?

@googlybear i know its a freak accident, the point was these things do happen. I do wear my seat belt all the time though.

In my opinion, it’s like playing your odds on flying vs. driving….250,000:1 of dying on plane or 5,000:1 driving…...neither one is perfect but I try to take the lower risk one ;-)

Although I would like to believe that our states would “do the right thing” all by themselves by creating seat belt laws…..many were strongly encouraged to do so by the federal government. The gov’t was poised to withold money for road improvements from any state that did not pass this law. See this link for info on those monies and stats on projected increased medical costs due to lack of seat belt usage.

The only state that does not currently have a seat belt law is New Hampshire

@ all – I was wondering what everyone’s opinion of this was. I can’t find a comment on it. Or a statistic. But it seems to make sense to me logically.

If someone is driving a vehicle and their car gets bumped from the rear side and they are not wearing their seatbelt they are more likely to lose control of the vehicle causing loss of life. I think the driver should have to wear their seat belt as sure as they have to prove they know enough to drive.

hey Bri L i hear that “If someone is driving a vehicle and their car gets bumped from the rear side and they are not wearing their seatbelt they are more likely to lose control of the vehicle…..” is that true? or should you post the same thing three more times :P

uberbatman, I was just trying to politely ask peoples opinions of that statement as no one had commented on it.
The first post was to make a point.

The second one was to prove a point that not wearing a seat belt could put other lives in danger as listing it the first time was not noted and already proved that point.

The third time was to find out if I was way off base on my logic

Everyone else is going the same rounds about statistics pointing out that the seat belt could hurt you if your clamped in vs. save you if your not. This debate, as it is being handled here, can’t be won.

I can definitely understand the losing control thing. Just another reason why I wear mine.

Thanks krose1223, I just wanted to find out if I was over thinking this

No, no. Totally understandable.