Should we feel sorry for non-seatbelt wearers?

[Claymore]

Dude if they have saved you 'a good couple of times' maybe it's time you took some more driving lessons?

Word to that.

Seriously, I'm been in the wrong spot at the wrong time a few too many times. The second-most recent write-off I had was entirely my fault though: I skidded on a corner in the wet and took out a lamp post. This was less than four hours after returning from skid-pan training...

My personal pet peeve: Kids not buckled in.... The parents should be put in jail for attempted murder in my opinion.

I agree. I cannot believe people are so uncaring or so ignorant.

 

[Nokkie]

So today I read in yesterdays newspaper a story entitled "Father killed in crash returning from wedding", all 4 the occupants were THROWN from the BMW which had hit some signposts and overturned.

Clearly they werent wearing seatbelts, thus, should I feel one iota of symphathy for them? Cause I dont, except MAYBE for the son and daughter that where involved cause they could still be underage and not know better, article doesnt state ages.

Lebo M was apparently also flung from the vehicle in her accident. So i dont think its a tragic loss, she was playing with her life by not buckling up. I always tell the people that get in the car with me to buckle up, I refuse to drive anywhere if they arent.

There is just no good reason not to buckle up. It has saved my life in a accident and if I wasnt wearing one my brain would be part of a windscreen.

Also, someone on radio said that in Soweto its uncool to wear seatbelts, yeah, its must be much better and cooler to be dead...

I do the exact same thing... with my friends I have told them so much everywhere we drive that they do it now without me having to tell them

 

[bwana]

Word to that.

Seriously, I'm been in the wrong spot at the wrong time a few too many times. The second-most recent write-off I had was entirely my fault though: I skidded on a corner in the wet and took out a lamp post. This was less than four hours after returning from skid-pan training...



I agree. I cannot believe people are so uncaring or so ignorant.

I hope you asked for a refund

 

[Kimosabe]

I grew up in NZ, as i am sure you all know.
In NZ the police will arrest you if you arent wearing a selt belt. When u have a kid, ur not allowed to take it out of the hospital with out owning a car seat.

I always wear mine, always will. I am so anal about itm everyone in my car has to be wearing one at all times.
I also have had a car crash, head on with a light pole, and my selt belt saved my life and my friends life.

Also i have stopped at traffic lights seeing kids not in car seats and jumping around, and it pisses me off! I've even stopped my car and got out and shouted at the parents for being stupid and playing with there kids lifes. They dont seem to like it but i couldnt give a damn.

 

[Claymore]

I hope you asked for a refund

It was free!

(I forgot...I hit the brakes hard, and the wheels locked, instead of me just steering. It was a good thing in the end though.)

 

[Creed]

When someone gets seriously hurt I feel sorry for them, I don't sit on my throne and point to them while saying "I told u so".If you are one of the people who feel all smug and superior because you have never forgotten to buckle up I feel sorry for you too beacuse someday someone you know is going to get hurt because he didin't wear a seatbelt and when u go to do your whole "I told u so" bit your gonna realise just how naive you were.

I do agree that people should buckle up but I still feel sorry for those who get hurt regardless if they were buckled up or not.

 

[bwana]

I feel sorry for the kids - especially the ones from the loins of these idiot parents who let them jump around in the car - or even worse drive in the back of a bakkie.

It was free!

(I forgot...I hit the brakes hard, and the wheels locked, instead of me just steering. It was a good thing in the end though.)

It was a good thing?

 

[Leitmotif]

It was a good thing?

Insurance = new car?

 

[Claymore]

It was a good thing?

Yep. It was my Jag, which still had a bent chassis from the previous accident. When it was written off, I got far more from the insurance than I ever could have if I'd tried to sell it.

 

[masticore]

Fact: Seat belts save lives more often than they take them.

Exception: My boet rolled his car a few years back. The paramedics on the scene said if he was wearing his seat belt he would most likely have been decapitated ... instead he got a broken jaw.

Disgust: parent driving on the N1, talking on the phone and smoking. Two kids playing silly buggers on the back shelf & seats.

 

[Boodles]

Rant...Rant...

South africans dont seem to worry about wearing seat belts. And there are reasons for this... traffic cops do nothing/police do nothing/ there is no advertising/drivers & passengers dont know any better.

Basically its the responsability of the transport department.

If i use the example from down under, they do all the above continually. Its a ongoing process and doesnt stop. Law enforcement must do its job, which it doesnt here in SA.

You basically need to drum into peoples head that if they dont wear a seat belt they will be fined and/or/ they could end up crippled/dead or whatever.

SA seem to be clueless.

 

[neio]

A guy I know had an accident at 180 without wearing his seatbelt, he came out fine only for the fact that the airbags protected him from rolling around within the car. Airbags saves lives, unless you are driving at low speed.

 

[Highflyer_GP]

I've seen so many cops driving without seatbelts or talking on cellphones. What message does this relay to the public? If they want something to work, they should lead by example. No amount of Arrive Alive advertising will help if cops aren't setting the example.

 

[AntiThesis]

This is true but it needs to come hand in hand with punishments for offencders who don't wear their belts. I always wear mine and like SSbird insist that others do as well.

To be fair my reasons aren't motivated by concern for their safety but rather that should there be an accident they could easily sue me And most likely win.

 

[Reason]

You know, to those who bring up the anecdotes about people surviving because of not wearing seatbelts could you perhaps, you know, see if you can find some data supporting your positions.

Neio, people are lucky, they survive the oddest things, (in WWI a pilot supposedly fell 18,000 feet - into snow- and walked away with only a broken nose). Wanna try falling 18,000 feet based on that anecdote?

PS Airbags are supposed to be used in conjunction with seatbelts, and if you have Airbags but aren't wearing your seatbelt your are in even greater danger than you would have been.

 

[Claymore]

Airbags saves lives, unless you are driving at low speed.

Actually, the effect of airbags on death statistics has only been 2-3%. Compare that with seatbelts at 50% or thereabouts, stability control at about 10%, and ABS at a nice fat 0%.

 

[Claymore]

Neio, people are lucky, they survive the oddest things, (in WWI a pilot supposedly fell 18,000 feet - into snow- and walked away with only a broken nose). Wanna try falling 18,000 feet based on that anecdote?

It was WW2, guy was a crewmember of a Lancaster, and he fell through tree branches into a snowdrift. Bloody lucky.

 

[bwana]

Actually, the effect of airbags on death statistics has only been 2-3%. Compare that with seatbelts at 50% or thereabouts, stability control at about 10%, and ABS at a nice fat 0%.

Those are accident prevention devices.

 

[Claymore]

Those are accident prevention devices.

Correct. But their effect on fatalities can be measured, comparing stats of car models with and without those features.

 

[jontyB]

Correct. But their effect on fatalities can be measured, comparing stats of car models with and without those features.

Two weekends ago we watched as a person's body was pulled from the wreckage of a "safe" luxury car. The car had caught fire and the seatbelt clip had melted into place. We are not certain, but we are pretty sure the person may have escaped had this not happened. Anyway, this is an anomaly, and should not be used as a reason not to wear a seatbelt. If you don't wear a seatbelt, you definitely have a bigger chance of dying in a serious car accident, and this is definitely evident in the number of survivors (wearing seatbelts) vs those that die (most often not wearing seat belts) I have seen in car crashes.