ADP

A few months ago on a notorious road between Salisbury and Southampton a van and a truck hit head on after one tried to overtake (over solid whites) BOTH people were killed and BOTH had not been wearing seatbelts - the coroners verdict was released today.

Why do people do it(or not do it)? Are they mad? is it uncool or something, or are they just too lazy?

See how cool it looks when your head goes through the window and you end up looking like the elephant man for the rest of your life, or worse still have an extended stay in a wooden box.

Jen

Scariest thing being a survey done recently at a Hampshire Junior School, parents pulled away with 81% of the kids not using a seatbelt....that's what causes the highest serious and fatal injuries in the under 15 age groups, 51% of all highway accidents.

Some people will swear it's safer not to use a seatbelt (thrown clear of accidents etc.) but they're designed to let you move enough to be safe. tbh it feels unnatural not to wear a seatbelt to me and I always use ours I'd be annoyed if I had to pay the £50 excess on the window

drumsterphil

iTrader: (1)

Remember talking to a copper about muppets not wearing seat-belts and he told me about an incident he attended where a mother had been holding her baby but didn't have her belt on. Car had a head on and result was that, as the mother was thrown forward, the baby's head was squashed between the mother and the dash board and exploded!

Personally I could not imagine driving anywhere without a seat-belt - feel so vulnerable without it.

Phil

MarkO

I quite often don't wear a belt, particularly when pootling around local roads. If I'm on a long journey, I put it on. Not sure why really - just forget sometimes, it's not intentional. Suppose I never reach such significant velocities in the Peugeot as I used to in the STI.

TBH, though, anyone who lets their kids in a car without a belt on, deserves to be shot. [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

BOB.T

It seems to be on the increase, IMHO I've seen loads of folk just lately without belts, as above I just don't feel right without mine on

The kids without belts on thing makes my blood boil[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

beamer

My car does not move until my kids are fastened in and checked by me

Dracoro

How! you're in a secured car! The only place you're gonna be 'thrown' is throught the windows. And if smashing yer head against a load of glass doesn't kill you then being thrown INTO some solid object will.

You'd only be 'thrown' from a car if it's some old open top car with no doors. And even then your legs are probably secured in the car if it's a sports car (caterham, s2000 etc.) so the only car you could be 'thrown' from is some thing like a Ford Model T.

Personally, I'm happy being strapped in with a few bruised ribs but alive (I was a passenger in an accident once so can verify this statement! if I'd not been wearing a seat belt, I'd not be here today.)

Luke

I live right next door to a little kids school. Everyday atleast 70% arrive and leave without belts on...

The parents **** in mouths or talking on the phone etc....

Sign of the times.

It should be a on the spot fine of £250.00 per passenger.

When I go to Turkey ...I nearly have a heart attack.. babies and kids all over place playing around..parents do care etc...

mj

agreed, but there is one thing I have noticed over the last couple of years - Asians seem to do this alot - more than anyone else - there always seems to be a kid in athe back seat not strapped in and resting on the back of the front seats, or even worse kids of 6-7 in the front seats unsecured.

Not wishing to start WW3 or anything, its just something I have noticed.

Dazza012

I always drive with my belt on, and i don't even have to ask my kids, they know soon as there in the car the belt goes on.

Apparition

Yesterday I spent some time with a bloke who very publicly risked his life a few years ago during a siege in London..... now on the way to meet this fella, my travelling companions did NOT wear their seat belts. It was a 3+ hour journey. I travelled for an hour in above mentioned chap's car and he DID wear his seat belt. Is there a message here?
Suffice to say, when I pointed this fact out to my travelling companions on the way home.... yes... clunk - click immediately all the way round the vehicle.

Apparition

MJ you are not the only one to have spotted this phenomenon.

248SPG

I had one of the guys from work in my car the other day with his 2 kids and I wouldnt leave withough checking HIS kids were strapped in.

I must be the only one of my friends that wears a seatbelt though

I agree with the above statement when they said I feel very vunerable without it on.

Little Miss WRX

In Australia there are spot belt checks done by the police and penalty exceeds a fine of $200 with 3 points......

JamieMacdonald

[rant on]
I really don't get it - I don't even have to think about putting my seat belt on when I use my car. I just don't understand people who won't wear them, it's just common sense to me. I live down a quiet lane and although I haven't always got my seatbelt on as I pull away, I'm always wearing it by the time I reach the main road.

I know a seatbelt isn't guaranteed to save your life but in the event of a crash I'd definitely prefer to be wearing a seatbelt!

To me, not wearing a seatbelt is like getting in a car which had a magic button which said "press this and if you have a crash you won't die".... and then not pressing the button! It's either laziness or some stupid ego thing. I had a girl in my car the other day (ooh-er ) and I asked her why she hadn't put her seatbelt on. She said she "didn't like wearing them", WTF?! Mind you I think she had a pierced nipple so maybe that was why - chaffing and all that...
[/rant off]

J

[Edited by JamieMacdonald - 7/29/2003 12:44:28 AM]

paulr

I often dont wear one,i just dont like wearing it.

Jeff Wiltshire

Then quite frankly you shouldn't be in a car....walk instead...

When your face looks like it's been through a cheese grater its a bit late to think "Maybe I should've worn a seatbelt"....

Apart from anything else in inconsiderate as the Police will shut the road where your fatal accident happens for hours....and that and the clean up costs the Tax payer loads of dosh.....

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

Jen

Dracoro - I completely agree with you and it shocked me when I read it....it was from a SN thread a while ago alot of people saying "i wouldn't be alive today if I was wearing a seat belt"!?! WTF? I donno...just seems stupid to me

Nat21 - exactly why I wouldn't go in one of those cars without a roll cage.... Paranoid? Me? Yup

saucy-scooby

Seatbelts can be a double edged sword, they either save your life or they can kill you - if not maintained correctly.

In the business that I am in, we have another problem with seatbelts coming very soon, thanx to Europe.

We own/operate 2 touring coaches, one with 49 seats the other with 59 seats - all seatbelted.

Now here is a question...how do you make 59 passengers wear their belts on a coach journey?

It is going to be enforceable very soon but how can you enforce it?

One plan is to put a handbrake inhibitor switch system on a coach that stops the vehicle moving in the event of a seatbelt not being fastened.....thats fine until a passenger wants to use the loo on board. Just imagine going down a motorway at 62mph and a passenger rises from their seat and the handbrake comes on.

They save lives, as shown recently near Wrexham when a coach overturned after a dozy pedestrian walked out infront of the coach.

But how can you enforce seatbelt wearing in coaches, if seatbelt laws on cars are already being ignored?

saucy-scooby

Oh and for those who often drive their cars with kids in the front seat.....no child under 12 unless sat on an approved booster seat may travel in the front seat of a car (or on front pairs of seats of passenger service vehicles) - and that the law

How many little darlings who are obviously under 12 do you see in front seats?

When asked why, mummy says kiddy will thow tantrum if not allowed to sit there....kiddy will die there if in a crash...what is your choice? a tantrum or a funeral

NACRO

Some of my friends are "too cool" to wear belts when being passengered in my car. One in particular makes a point of not belting up. Last time I had him in the car I tried the usual threat of not moving until he belted up, he just said OK, we can sit here all day. I decided to teach him a lesson.
I got upto about 40mph on a dual carriageway made sure no other cars were around and then just anchored on with him in the passenger seat. After he'd removed himself from the dashboard and checked he hadn't broken his nose, he put his belt on.
In future anyone who doesn't want to wear a belt can get out and walk.

saucy-scooby

Good move NACRO, bet he loved the experience too.

Pity though that you had to go to such lengths to prove a point in common sense behaviour

Johnny50

I've got to admit that in the past, i never used to wear a seatbelt, right up until the point where i had a slow bump.

Nothing serious, i was pulling up to a stop, when another car came around the corner and caught my wing.

Now, i was only doing 10mph MAX..and i still came right forward and bumped my head on the A pillar.
It then made me realise just how stupid i had been for all those years, as the thoughts of what could've happened started going through my head.

I now go everywhere with my seatbelt on, and wouldn't ever go back to not wearing one, it's just not worth the risk.

Luke

Nacro...should have told him to Fu*K off out of the car. He aint cool and nor where you. What would you be thinking if you had had a real accident.

The driver should take no krap from passengers... My wifes friends are Turkishh and they have a big issue with wearing belts. But they dont move in our car unless they belt up...

But we are more worried about other important issues in this country......

Markus

I've had it drummed into me from an early age about wearing belts in the back of cars, so I always do it plus make sure any passengers are belted up, regardless of thier age. As for in the front, always wear it, no questions. I know that some people don't wear it because of the situations where it could cause more damage than not wearing one, ie; crushed chest and stuff, however, I feel much happier and safer wearing one. Plus I don't feel "right" if I've not got one on, kinda the same as not having a watch on when you usually do, feels weird.

fin

Dracoro


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-------------------------------------------------------------------thrown clear of accidents etc.
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How! you're in a secured car! The only place you're gonna be 'thrown' is throught the windows. And if smashing yer head against a load of glass doesn't kill you then being thrown INTO some solid object will.

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When your car is on your drive its a secure car, when it hits a truck or a tree at a speed say 70+mph it might as well be a shoe box. I have seen 1000`s of recovered cars and trust me you hit a car in the rear hard enough and the roof in the front can twist and drop more then a foot and trust me the doors spring right open

C

I dont wear one

Refuse point blank to waer one after my housemate only survived a crash because he didnt

Simple as that - it aint your choice whether I wear one or not - typical scoobynet nanny state mentality blinkered view...

I swear this place is full of nuns lmfao. You say I dont deserve to wear have a car if I dont wear a seatbelt, who the hell are you to make that decision!!!!!

Dracoro

Fin - Indeed BUT you are travelling forwards so the only place you're gonna be thrown is forwards if you hit something. You're not gonna be thrown sideways through the door. And if you're travelling sideways you get thrown out of the door into whatever you've crashed into. At least, strapped in the car, the car takes most the impact.

Anyway, it may be 'possible' to get thrown to saftey but in a majority of accidents you'll be safer strapped in. You'll probably have one of the 'majority' accidents before you have the thrown away accident. Basically, the odds are very bad on not wearing belts.

Regardless, the function of seat belts has been proven many times over hence it being law. Personally I think the people who refuse to use seatbelts are doing so just because 'they don't like wearing them', not because of some unlikely event that they'll be thrown from a car in event of an accident.


BTW - regarding the TVR Chimaera - when in the car, your lower half the body is in effect under/in the car under the bonnet. It'd be VERY unlikely to get thrown from it unless you are going backwards. Only the top half your body will get thrown, your legs will be stuck! This is also the same for many cars apart from ones that you 'sit up' in where your legs won't be trapped.

[Edited by Dracoro - 7/29/2003 10:06:25 AM]

Mungo

I can't believe all this crap about being thrown clear. You are most likely to be thrown forward through the windscreen into something solid or on to the road (60 mph road rash anyone?). The argument that you'll get a bruised chest is somewhat stupid when the windscreen will just shred your face for you, if it hasn't already crushed your skull. If your car has an airbag, that too will increase your injuries if you are not wearing a seatbelt - they're designed to work together.

As for the joker who asked how you enforce seat belt wearing on coaches - the same way you do on planes.