Ya Can't FIx Stupid.....

[fon1961]

Maybe that Indy car driver who just died would have lived had he not been belted in.   

argue this topic all you want but the 2funny icon following references to someone dying is just wrong

[lucky_1_chris]

Once while driving along Old Route 1 in Newburyport , MA I had a chunk of granite curb fall off of a truck in front of me (I was driving a ten-wheel flatbed at the time). I could not stop in time and the road is two lanes with marsh on either side and traffic coming both ways. I had no choice but to slow it down and then hit it.

 I would question whether you had your vehicle under control. If you could not stop in time to avoid hitting the object that fell off the truck in front of you.

Let's drop an 800lb piece of stone in front of you on a two lane road and see how you do.

But that's irrelevant. Fact is; the seat belt kept me in the seat where I needed to be. That's the important part.

I was just saying.....And if that was a child running out in front of you, you would have killed him....But, you would have remained in your seat. I understand.

How slow do you have to drive to avoid hitting someone that runs out in front of you? What does someone running out in front of you have to do with following someone too close? Explain...

[The Anvil]

Maybe that Indy car driver who just died would have lived had he not been belted in.   

argue this topic all you want but the 2funny icon following references to someone dying is just wrong

The laughing is not at the expense of death but at the absurdity of the idea that...

You know what? Nevermind.

[DarkMeister]

Crap! After all the trouble I went through to disable the seat-belt nag now I feel guilty. (Try it. Or Google it. Cripes. Click unclick 9 times. After the ninth time, wait two seconds, but no more than four seconds, turn head and spit over right shoulder, twice. Face front, turn key 14 times, Click-unclick belt 12 more times, with the last click stopped between clickety and clack position. Etc...)

I get Mr. V. Anvile's point: keeping the driver where he/she belongs, thus avoiding more carnage (carnage? CAR-nage???) by an out-of-control vehicle. To the extent possible. Makes sense. Even if not always the case, at least the odds are better. 

My usual split personality disorder has me:

Resenting the imposition of rule which precludes personal choice.
Understanding that rules are needed since they see us merely as a herd of cattle that needs to be edumacated.
Resenting the blatant cash-grab through fines (let alone demerit points).
Wondering at the very concept of hurtling along inside a large mass of metal, at high speeds, surrounded by thousands of other hurtling masses, while sitting in it loose like a meaty bobble-doll.
Resenting the belt when wearing a winter coat with my smokes unreachable without bolt cutters or a torch. That, and the difficulty of reaching in the back for another beer.

I still go for personal choice. I'll wear the belt in select locations and for select occasions. My brother in law always said to me: when driving, only break one law at a time. Drinking? Don't speed. Speeding? Wear the belt.
I always wear it when I get close to home. They say that the majority of accidents happen within a couple of miles from home. So...

[Chrisj CMA]

You can try but the facts are fairly irrefutable:

You are safer in a car with seatblets on

You are safer on a motorcycle with a helmet on...full face for that matter

You are safer not doing any of these activities:
  skydiving
  SCUBA diving
  mountain climbing
  
And Daniels point about there is really no justification for motorcycles as transportration (I have been expecting the start of the "ban" for years)

I for one lean towards the opinion that an adult in America should have the CHOICE in all the above.  wearing a seatbelt would be my choice, but still I think it should be optional.  Since its not, I choose to look at it this way...

First I HAVE DONE ALL THE ABOVE LISTED THINGS A LOT! And I believe its our God given right to do things we want to even if others think its unsafe or dumb.  BUT...in a society as complex as we have today regulations to make things safer PROTECT the future of said activities, not the opposite.

Cars started out with NO seatbelts and no one even thought of them until safety became an issue.  If the automobile could not have been made safer way back in the day, who knows, maybe the whole car thing would have stayed a fad and we'd all be riding trains and busses to this day

Motorcycles have come a LONG way and my thinking is had they not gotten safer and more technical they would be in the same class as parachutes for skydiving.......tools reserved for the craziest of daredevils but not very popular.

There are strict rules and regulations for skydiving, opening altitudes, equipment configurations and inspections....this perpetuates the sport, it doesnt limit it

Same for SCUBA diving and all other hazardous activities.

Look at any one rule or regulation from the standpoint of "freedom" and they may appear to restrict freedom......back away and see the big picture and you will see just how many freedoms we have BECAUSE there are safety rules to keep them respectable.

[The Anvil]

Once while driving along Old Route 1 in Newburyport , MA I had a chunk of granite curb fall off of a truck in front of me (I was driving a ten-wheel flatbed at the time). I could not stop in time and the road is two lanes with marsh on either side and traffic coming both ways. I had no choice but to slow it down and then hit it.

 I would question whether you had your vehicle under control. If you could not stop in time to avoid hitting the object that fell off the truck in front of you.

Let's drop an 800lb piece of stone in front of you on a two lane road and see how you do.

But that's irrelevant. Fact is; the seat belt kept me in the seat where I needed to be. That's the important part.

I was just saying.....And if that was a child running out in front of you, you would have killed him....But, you would have remained in your seat. I understand.

How slow do you have to drive to avoid hitting someone that runs out in front of you? What does someone running out in front of you have to do with following someone too close? Explain...

The situation is even more complicated than that in this case. I'll explain a little more later when I have time.

[bscrive]

+1 for what Chris says.  I would still make the choice to wear a seat belt in a car and a helmet on the bike.  For those who would choose not to wear a seat belt, please don't fly out of the car in an accident and hit me on the valk.  Thanks.

[vanagon40]

Look at all the crap you stirred up bassman.  Next time you should try and make sure the joke does not reference such a controversial subject.  Stick with politics, religion, race, sex, or something safer than a person flouting the law by not wearing a seatbelt.

A guy was driving when he saw the flash of a traffic camera.
 
He figured that his picture had been taken for exceeding the limit even
though he knew that he was not speeding.
 
Just to be sure, he went around the block and passed the same spot, driving
even more slowly, but again the camera flashed.
 
Now he began to think that this was quite funny, so he drove even slower as
he passed the area once more, but the traffic camera again flashed.
 
He tried a fourth and fifth time with the same results and was now laughing
as the camera flashed while he rolled past at a snail's pace.
 
Two weeks later, he got five tickets in the mail for driving without a seat
belt.
 
Ya can't fix stupid.
 

[bassman]

Look at all the crap you stirred up bassman.  Next time you should try and make sure the joke does not reference such a controversial subject.  Stick with politics, religion, race, sex, or something safer than a person flouting the law by not wearing a seatbelt.

A guy was driving when he saw the flash of a traffic camera.
 
He figured that his picture had been taken for exceeding the limit even
though he knew that he was not speeding.
 
Just to be sure, he went around the block and passed the same spot, driving
even more slowly, but again the camera flashed.
 
Now he began to think that this was quite funny, so he drove even slower as
he passed the area once more, but the traffic camera again flashed.
 
He tried a fourth and fifth time with the same results and was now laughing
as the camera flashed while he rolled past at a snail's pace.
 
Two weeks later, he got five tickets in the mail for driving without a seat
belt.
 
Ya can't fix stupid.
 

vanagon40.......ur right......all of this over a JOKE !!......it's going to be a LONG winter.....think I'll give up the comedy club and stick with my day job....oh wait...I don't HAVE a day job!!  !