by Frances Taylor

Created on: February 07, 2010

Seat-belts save lives. As a state trooper once said "I've never unbuckled the seat belt of dead person.''  So there is no point in arguing against safety. But the issue is freedom - freedom to carelessly forget to put your seat belt on just to ride around the corner or the freedom for an otherwise law-abiding person to not be questioned by a police officer.

But with freedom comes responsibility. What is your obligation to ride in a car in the safest manner? Is that something your owe yourself, or the people who love you or who would have to take care of you if you had a major injury? On the other hand, if you are the one injured, shouldn't that be simply be your responsibility? 

The laws that require seat belts or motorcycle helmets are intended to help prevent needless injury. But to me, these laws are directed at the wrong people. Unlike laws that prohibit harming another person, these laws are intended to prevent harm to one's self.

Why does the law care more about your safety than you do? As long as a person fully understands the risk, these laws should be directed at the protection of others, not oneself. 

For example, requiring seat-belts and car-seats for children riding in a car is correct. The children have little choice about when they ride in a car, or what happens during that ride. For that reason, they need protection from an accident that they have no fault in.

Since the driver is the only person in control of the car, adult passengers should also be protected by seat-belt laws since their safety is in the hands of the driver. However, should not be mandatory for the driver wear a seat-belt. The ticket should only be given if the passengers are not safely buckled. 

I think this rule change would have a greater impact than requiring people who believe they are invincible to have to wear a seat belt. It would remind the driver that he or she has the right to be injured in a car accident, because they have some degree of control in the situation, and the people you are driving do not. 

When I get in a car, I always make sure my son is buckled in, wearing his seat-belt. I try never to take his possible safety for granted. But nevertheless, I often "forget" to put on my seat belt, especially if I am riding alone. I'm not sure why. I've had only one accident that was truly scary and totaled my car.

It was during a routine trip coming back to work on my lunch hour. I received no injury, but for some reason I was wearing my seat belt that particular day. For days and weeks after, I felt reminded how fast life can change. Wearing a seatbelt is a recognition of that fact.

Maybe its something we would rather not be reminded about, maybe we feel safer pretending nothing is going to happen and we control everything in our lives. For this reason, I would like to see the complete repeal of mandatory motorcyle helmet laws. But that's for another debate. 

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