Embrace Life - always wear a seatbelt

[davidpizzica]

I always wore a seatbelt when I drove. I believe it saved me from more serious injury in my t- bone accident. There's a resident here that just bought a brand new ford focus and he disabled the warning bells for the seat belts. He says he just drives short distances and doesn't think he needs to put his seat belts on. I tried telling him it's illegal to disable safety devices and not to put his belts on, but I can't convince him.

[Cataholic]

I am always amazed at the people I meet (few and far between, of course) that tell me, "the doctor (paramedic, fireman, policeman) told me if I had had on my seatbelt, I would be dead". I never know if I should tell them that the person stating that isn't an accident reconstructionist, that they should go to Vegas and play the odds, or that anyone that would suggest to another they not wear a seatbelt isn't worthy of listening to to begin with.

Here in OH, the law for children in safety restraints was changed from 4 yrs/40 pounds to 8 years/ 80 pounds, with the reccomendation that kids under 12 remain in the backseat. The number of adults that write in with comments about why they shouldn't abide by the law is ridiculous. "I just got rid of my old seat when my child turned 5", "I had a new baby and all these seats won't fit in my car", "my child gets made fun of cause he/she is still in a seat".

[Marigold2]

What a great post Mary. I have worn a seat beat for over 30 years. They save thousands of lives, my niece might be alive today if she wore one, I am alive today because I did.