Seat Belt Laws

[Queenie]

I think it is a good law for stupid people. And I am sorry if I offend others by saying that, but the hard cold truth is that you are, 90% of the time, safer when driving with a seatbelt on. My father used to refuse to wear a seat belt until it saved the lives of 2 of his grandchildren in a wreck. Then he changed his stubborn mind and admitted that the only reason he didn't want to wear one was because "someone was telling him he had to do something, and at his age, there was only one person that was going to tell him what to do . . . my Mother." Then I pointed out to my father that wearing a seatbelt had also saved my Mother's life several times (11 to be exact). My Mother had epilepsy and would have seizures while driving. Now I know somebody out there is going to say, why did you let her drive. Well for one, I was her child, I didn't much talk back to my Mother for fear of getting a slap across the face. Also, I was a child or teen during most of the accidents. Don't think I didn't try to do it anonymously with the Safety Department for the State of Tennessee, because I did twice. I also contacted her doctor and his reasoning was that of all of his epilepsy patients, not one single one had ever fatally hurt themselves or anybody else, and to take that freedom would be devastating to the patient. Ok, I stopped arguing about Mom driving; however, I didn't worry as much because I knew she had her seatbelt on. If only wearing a seatbelt would have stopped the cancer that took her life.

WRT wearing a helmet while riding a bike (that does not have a seatbelt). Have you ever thought about why a motorcycle does not have a seatbelt? What good would a seatbelt do for a rider on a motorcycle. It would keep you attached to an apparatus that, if you wreck, you would be on the outside of. Imagine being attached to the outside of a car and it rolling end over end. That wouldn't be very smart, would it? You would probably have a better chance of survival if you weren't attached to it. I know it is safer to ride in a car than on a motorcycle, but to those that opt to ride (and I have and will ride again), they also opt to take that chance. I also know that the only between me and the pavement would be a helmet.