Do You Wear Your Seat Belt?

[Tom Winship]

Although I would brand myself as conservative, there are some issues that I think they need to bite the bullet and make them mandatory, like:

1. You can't start your car until your seat belt is fastened. (You can't retract the landing gear on a plane while it is still on the ground)

2. You can't talk on a cell phone while driving.

3. You can't apply make up while driving.

[Don Alexander]

the friggin headlights oughta be on whenever the car is running also

[Jon Lanier]

Always. It's more of a habit to put on the belt than it is to turn on the car.

[Cary Falk]

I wear mine about 95% of the time. I only started doing it since I got married as a request from my wife. Still after all these years it is still not a reflex. I don't think people should get a ticket if they don't wear them.

[George Sanders]

I agree with the people of New Hampshire; it's a choice. They have no mandatory seat belt law. There are many documented though unreported cases of people surviving an accident by not wearing one. I think the main reason for these laws is to generate revenue for the state.

[Belinda Barfield]

I always wear a seat belt. I don't like to, but I do.

[Rod Sheridan]

Of course I wear my seatbelt everytime, if I was smart enough to predict when my next collision would occur I'd be betting on the horses instead of working for a living.

Same with riding gear for the motorcycle, full helmet, full riding suit, boots, gloves and a reflective vest. Call me chicken but I don't fancy sliding down the pavement at 100Km/h on my skin.

Same with the table saw, never use it without a guard and riving knife.

Regards, Rod.

[Jeff Monson]

I think its a fair law to have to wear a seatbelt, I dont agree with the ticket price in some areas though. I do wear mine always, feel unsecure in the seat nowdays without one. It was a hard thing to engrain in me, as growing up we never wore them.

[Curt Harms]

I agree with the people of New Hampshire; it's a choice. They have no mandatory seat belt law. There are many documented though unreported cases of people surviving an accident by not wearing one. I think the main reason for these laws is to generate revenue for the state.

I wonder how New Hampshire gets away with that? When the mandatory seat belt law was being debated in PA., The Feds "gave it a push" by threatening to withhold many million $$ in federal highway funds if PA. didn't pass this law. I think seat belts are a good idea. I didn't care much for how the PA. law got jammed down our throats. I hope this isn't deemed political, it isn't intended to be.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Always under all conditions.

About 6 years ago I got out or work early one winter day 2 days before Christmas. I had a nasty cold, went home and had lunch and decided to go over to the local rental store to get one of my propane tanks filled for the gas grille. On the drive I went into a coughing fit, hyperventilated and passed out for a second, crossed the center line of the road and nailed a birch tree head on and dead center at 40 mph. There was a serious bruise all around my waist and a diagonal one running from my right side und up to my left shoulder. I also cracked 3 ribs. Without the seatbelt, shoulder harness, and the airbag I'm sure that I would have been either seriously hurt or killed. As it was, after an ambulance ride to the local hospital and a checkup, I was home in 3 hours.

[Matt Newton]

I live in the great state of New Hampshire and always wear my seatbelt even though i am not required to by law. Anyone under the age of 18 is required to wear it, but not as an "adult". I think the rational was to possibly reduce the population of idiots who don't wear them. Also remember our motto, Live Free or Die.

[John Pratt]

I don't have a problem with the law of NH, I think it should be a choice, but I never start the car without mine on. Just like wearing a motorcycle helmet, it is the riders choice, but I think your fooling yourself (I would use harsher terms, but I don't want to offend anyone) if you not wearing one.

Remember when: I remember when I was young and none of use wore seatbelts and there were four of use kids in the back seat jumping around, sleeping in the back window, and Dad would always tell us to jump up when we went over the RR tracks to keep the car from bottoming out.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have walked away from 2 car wrecks where the car I was in, was totaled. The first time was fate, karma, an act of God.....I was 17...owned that car for 6 months and never worn the seatbelts.

I always wore them after the 1st accident.

15 years later....2nd accident.....totaled car....dislocated 2 fingers which were on the steering wheel at the time of impact.

[Dan Hintz]

Seatbelts are/were pushed by the insurance industry as it lowered overall claims significantly. Yes, some situations do exist where a seatbelt could cause more harm than good, but the likelihood of such a circumstance is significantly lower than those in which it helps. Even less so when it comes to wearing a helmet. Also, safety factors (like crumple zones, airbags, etc.) have increased significantly since seatbelts were first required oh so many years ago, and these work in conjunction with seatbelts (i.e., they are mostly useless without seatbelts and can cause even more injury if not used together).

I won't get into the issue about laws requiring you to do anything, but I hate to think my own insurance premiums go up bit by bit because someone chose not to wear a seatbelt and got into an accident that turned them into a veggie. You don't want to wear a seatblet, that's perfectly fine in my mind.. but I shouldn't have to subsidize your decision should the unthinkable happen. Sign a piece of paper that says you choose not to wear a belt, and should an accident happen that cause harm that could have been prevented by said belt (like smashing your head into the windshield), you or your estate pays for all medical care... I'd be okay with that.

But I digress...

[Rick Prosser]

What amazes me are the countless numbers of people I see who

1. get in their car
2. start their car
3. put their car in drive and start rolling
4. THEN start fiddling with putting on their seatbelt as they roll through the parking lot or out of the driveway.

That's me , and I have no idea why I continue to do it in that order - habit?? I don't feel comfortable on the road driving without a seat belt, but I don't put it on until the car is rolling. (I know it is illogical)

It is pretty easy for me to connect the belt one handed though...

Part of it came from having to move around in the seat to be sure it was safe to start moving when I first started to learn - the belt made it hard to move around and see all directions.