tommudd wrote:
Still think it should be a personal choice.
Saying that I do wear mine due to its the law, plus had to way before when I drove truck over the road.
Its like motorcycle helmets, I choose never to wear one and will not ride in a state that requires them. It's my choice.
Personal story on seatbelt's, knew a lovely girl who hit a deer and went off the road at about 40 mph,rolled over and ended upside down into a creek with about 18 inches of water it in. She had her belt on, but couldn't get it to release, she drowned hanging there. The Highway Patrol noted that if she wouldn't of had the seat belt on she would of lived since she could of crawled out
Highway patrol is not a great source of physics knowledge -
If she's driving at 40mph - she has that much kinetic energy - something has to absorb that energy to stop.
with the seat belt - it's the belt and chassis - without the seat belt - it's the skull against a windshield or the the driver ejected out of the vehicle.
the death may be different - but it still death.
The statistics are overwhelming - the odds of surviving a crash are better with a seat belt than without.
Motorcycle helmets the statistics aren't as high - you can crash hard enough to kill yourself and the helmet won't make any difference - although the odds are still on the side of wearing the helmet - and in the states that have relaxed helmet laws - more people have died.
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2005 CRD
stuffSkeptic quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur