What benefit to you receive for not wearing your seatbelt? I assume you trade and take risk in order to receive money in return, but maybe you just like to take needless risk. 5yr
Not wearing a seat belt only demonstrates that one is stupid, not that one takes risks. Try visiting a few accident victims in the hospital. How many of your friends were injured over the last 20 years? Yes, only 40,000 or so die on the streets a year in the USA. But almost 75 times that many people are INJURED. Many seriously. "There were an estimated 6,289,000 car accidents in the US in 1999. There were about 3.4 million injuries and 41,611 people killed in auto accidents in 1999." http://www.unitedjustice.com/death-statistics.html At that rate, during the course of an 80 year lifespan, the number of auto injuries are 3.4 million*80 or over 90% chance that it will be you. Seat belts can greatly reduce that number. She was 12 when she died...
Natural selection at work perhaps... Still amazes me that there are in-duh-viduals out there who bother to debate the issue of seat belts. Its like "Hello..., Hello..., McFly..., anybody home?...."
Excellent question. In attempting to answer your question, I could be analytical or I could take the defensive or I could be analytical in taking the defensive. There was a study I remember reading about more than ten years ago that said 4 wheel drive vehicles were involved in more crashes percentage wise than passenger cars and so statistically at least were not as safe. The corollary was that drivers of these vehicles felt "bulletproof" to use my term for lack of a better word and therefore thought they did not have to drive as safely or as defensively because of what they felt rightly or not were the characteristics of their vehicle. Therefore the benefit is that when I drive without a seatbelt I may drive more safely and more defensively. In effect the opposite of people who may wear their seatbelts and have multi air bag vehicles and may also feel a false sense of security. I have not had an accident in the last forty years for whatever reasons. The main reason for that may not have anything to do with my safe driving but I drive very little. I got a new car in 1996 and it has yet to turn 40k on the odometer. And I rarely drive out on the open road on interstates or freeways. My driving is limited to places in the small city that I live in with speeds of 45 or less. <p>I think the breakdown on this forum between those that do not and those that do wear seat belts has a lot to do with geographic region. I live at the intersection of the Biblebelt, Cornbelt, and Rustbelt. People out here love their Harleys and there are a lot of Harleys and the state I live has NO helmet law. As those on this forum may look at me as being foolish for not wearing a seatbelt, I look at all those folk on a daily basis and see riding on cycle as foolish with or without a helmet. I had a dentist who I liked very much who was killed on a motorcycle at the prime of his career in an accident that was in no way his fault and had he been in a car wearing or not wearing a seatbelt would have received only minor injuries.
I am not sure if you are preaching to me or lecturing me. I can only say that I was never very receptive to either in college or church.
Why would anyone choose not to wear a seatbelt. Its these kind of people that should be shot based on pure stupidity.
Perhaps one day someone may save your life or help you out in someway, but (sigh) they may be a stranger who doesn't wear a seat belt.
I grew up wearing seat belts religiously. Heck, we even had a plastic Jesus on the steel dashboard. It's like breathing. My seat belt is just on and I don't give it a second thought.