Thread: Seat Belt Laws

Originally Posted by John H.

Seat belt laws. What do you think. Are they being used to collect more money - and easily - from the Public? Are they being used to harass the Public? What do you think?

Take Care, John H.

i believe a question such as this should be posted here...

www.yourefuckinstupid.com

Just another means o collecting money. Cops are all about numbers, thats why at the end of the month (atleast where i live) Theyll work long long shifts and go places u never see them to try and find som reason to ticket people to meet their quota. Kinda like car salesmen.

it's that simple. They are used just to let the friggen public know that is it to protect you. If you're caught without it on, that's your fault. Put your damn seatbelt on and drive. It's not that hard to strap it on and if you won't, then you're the biggest lazy pos ever.

Take a look at all the pictures of drivers being crushed to death or thrown 100 feet from the car after a dive headfirst through the windshield.

Think about it.

Originally Posted by shiznit2169

it's that simple. They are used just to let the friggen public know that is it to protect you. If you're caught without it on, that's your fault. Put your damn seatbelt on and drive. It's not that hard to strap it on and if you won't, then you're the biggest lazy pos ever.

Take a look at all the pictures of drivers being crushed to death or thrown 100 feet from the car after a dive headfirst through the windshield.

Think about it.

Look at all the people who die from binge drinking and smoking cigarettes. But that's not illegal.

Seatbelt laws are used to collect cash so the politicians can spend more money conducting pointless surveys and paying over a mil to put in one busstop on some back alley road.

cops see a lot more car accidents and the injuries they cause than we do. i think it would be a shame to see a person dead, especially a child, and know a seat belt could have saved their life. anyone know the statistics on how many accidents there are a day? i'd be writing tickets too. if you are mad n think the law is just to collect money just wear your seat belt n they won't get any. someone on here has been hit by a semi... 2 times.

On Average 117 people die each day as a result of being involved in traffic accidents!

That equals 42,705 deaths each year as a result of traffic accidents.
gotta love google.

Originally Posted by rockgazer69

cops see a lot more car accidents and the injuries they cause than we do. i think it would be a shame to see a person dead, especially a child, and know a seat belt could have saved their life. anyone know the statistics on how many accidents there are a day? i'd be writing tickets too. if you are mad n think the law is just to collect money just wear your seat belt n they won't get any. someone on here has been hit by a semi... 2 times.

People choose to kill themselves with tobacco, alcohol, meth, cocaine, etc... let us choose to die in our cars if we please.

We're not saying seatbelts are protective and necessary in a car, but jsut how the law is, regardless of necessity, IS to collect funding. I live in Northern VA, on the radio there was this story a couple counties over, of cops using heat detectors at a roadside stop to see who was wearing their seatbelts and they could tell b/c the seatbelt would cause a little loss of color through the persons thermal reading if it was on correctly. I know it sounds ridiculous, I'll try and find the story.

Ehrlich Decries Seat Belt Patrol
State Police Used Night Vision Gear to Spot Violators

By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 7, 2005; Page B05

A stealth experiment using night vision gear to catch drivers violating Maryland's seat belt law was shut down yesterday after Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. declared the tactics "government intrusion into private decision making."

Last week, as part of a national campaign to encourage drivers to wear seat belts, state troopers in Montgomery County borrowed gear from the Maryland National Guard. During a three-hour effort on Rockville Pike, the state police identified 111 unbuckled passengers or drivers, fined $25 each.

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The operation, covered by local TV stations, set off complaints on talk radio the next day. It also caught the governor's attention.

"It caused a lot of anger to me when I found out about it," Ehrlich (R) said Saturday on WBAL-AM radio. "There is an issue with government intrusion into private decision making."

Yesterday, he directed the Maryland State Police to stop using the equipment for seat belt enforcement, although troopers said the program had ended last week.

The governor has opposed other recent efforts to clamp down on traffic violations for similar reasons. Ehrlich vetoed legislation two years ago to allow radar-activated speed cameras throughout the state and rejected a narrower bill last month that would have let Montgomery County install the cameras near schools and in residential neighborhoods.

"The governor has strong views on Big Brother tactics," spokeswoman Shareese N. DeLeaver said. "The governor feels there is an appropriate use of the night vision goggles, however, he does not believe seat belt enforcement rises to that level."

State Sen. Ida G. Ruben (D-Montgomery), who sponsored the seat belt law in 1997, called the governor's decision to discontinue to the use of the night vision devices "absolutely wrong."

"The police are trying to prevent accidents from happening where someone could be killed, rather than saved," she said.

Deploying the night vision equipment, she said, is the equivalent of setting a speed trap. "They are hiding on side streets to prevent people from speeding," Ruben said. "What's the difference?"

A spokesman for Col. Thomas E. Hutchins, the state police superintendent, who is an appointee of the governor, said the equipment had been returned to the National Guard.

"It was tried that one time and won't be tried again,'' state police spokesman Greg Shipley said.

CONTINUED 1 2 Next >

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...060601865.html

page 2 for anyone who cares : The use of the night vision equipment -- a six- to eight-inch hand-held device with a single eyepiece -- reignited debate about the state's seat belt law. In Maryland last year, 49 percent of the 643 people who died in traffic collisions were not wearing a seat belt.

Gregory Massoni, Ehrlich's press secretary, said the governor always wears a seat belt and encourages other drivers to do so. But he said Ehrlich opposes the state law that allows police to ticket unbuckled drivers absent another traffic violation.

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Maryland is one of 21 states, plus the District, that have what is known as "primary enforcement" of seat belt laws.

The tactics inspired feverish protest during all three hours of the Chip Franklin talk show on WBAL radio Thursday. Franklin said about two-thirds of his callers were livid about what they considered overzealous enforcement of the state's seat belt law. "Callers were frustrated to live in a state that treats them like they are 7 years old," he said. "It was just a scare tactic that went awry. It would be funny if it weren't so Orwellian."

The state police were assisted by the Montgomery County police. Lt. Eric Burnett, Montgomery police director of media services, was more circumspect. "I don't want to get into whether it's right or wrong,'' he said.

But he said the department has no plans to use the night vision gear it purchased for undercover investigations to track down seat belt violators.

Staff writer Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.

Originally Posted by musclepump

People choose to kill themselves with tobacco, alcohol, meth, cocaine, etc... let us choose to die in our cars if we please.

an adult can decide while understanding the risk a child can't. then the child you are forced to buckle up by law only loses their parents in the accident. mmmm that's not good either. but i see what you are saying. cops up here usually just give people a warning.

Originally Posted by goandykid

page 2 for anyone who cares : The use of the night vision equipment -- a six- to eight-inch hand-held device with a single eyepiece -- reignited debate about the state's seat belt law. In Maryland last year, 49 percent of the 643 people who died in traffic collisions were not wearing a seat belt.

Gregory Massoni, Ehrlich's press secretary, said the governor always wears a seat belt and encourages other drivers to do so. But he said Ehrlich opposes the state law that allows police to ticket unbuckled drivers absent another traffic violation.

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Maryland is one of 21 states, plus the District, that have what is known as "primary enforcement" of seat belt laws.

The tactics inspired feverish protest during all three hours of the Chip Franklin talk show on WBAL radio Thursday. Franklin said about two-thirds of his callers were livid about what they considered overzealous enforcement of the state's seat belt law. "Callers were frustrated to live in a state that treats them like they are 7 years old," he said. "It was just a scare tactic that went awry. It would be funny if it weren't so Orwellian."

The state police were assisted by the Montgomery County police. Lt. Eric Burnett, Montgomery police director of media services, was more circumspect. "I don't want to get into whether it's right or wrong,'' he said.

But he said the department has no plans to use the night vision gear it purchased for undercover investigations to track down seat belt violators.

Staff writer Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.

that is seriously fucked up.

yea it is, those crazy marylanders :P

but regardless, as a driver i wear the seatbelt, it keeps me with the car, so my body doesnt move when i drive, kinda feels like its pulling me through the turns with the car. Or maybe im crazy.

they probably saw some worse stuff than seat belt violations.

Originally Posted by goandykid

but regardless, as a driver i wear the seatbelt, it keeps me with the car, so my body doesnt move when i drive, kinda feels like its pulling me through the turns with the car. Or maybe im crazy.

how fast are you going? lol.

Originally Posted by rockgazer69

they probably saw some worse stuff than seat belt violations.

Originally Posted by rockgazer69

how fast are you going? lol.

lol, well right now im driving a pos, bout to trade it in, fat car. I dunno how to put it into words, with the seatbelt on i feel like im strapped in, attached to the car and stable. w/o it on i feel like a floating piece in the car that when I turn the wheel, the car will turn, and my body will hafta catch up with it.

i like the feeling when you go over a rise in the road n your body is weightless... my dad used to take us in his car, he always had thunderbirds, n show us how fast it'd go or do donuts in the winter... my mom did NOT approve.

lol yea, i love that feeling, runs along what im talking about, like when you go around a turn and accelerate, how ur body is pulled wiht the car. I'm visiting my dad in holland ina few weeks, nad he's taking me to this go kart track cept europe style. max speed 65 mph. u get bruised from crashes and shit. cannot. wait.

America is a capitalistic country, it's all about the money. Seatbelt laws, sin taxes, having to pay 50+ dollars every year for tabs on your license plate ect....just more hidden taxes. The average American pays over 40%+ in taxes and about 10%-15% of that is in hidden taxes.

Come on guys. Anybody above the level of an ameoba knows you are safer with a seat belt on. If you get hurt in an accident and don't have insurance, the government (that is the taxpayers) is going to pay for it.

There is a group of people who won't wear a seat belt and it costs the rest of society (thru medicare) when they get in an accident. The only way to try and get them to buckle up is to impose some kind of penalty for not putting them on.

Money always gets people motivated.

Originally Posted by milliman

Come on guys. Anybody above the level of an ameoba knows you are safer with a seat belt on. If you get hurt in an accident and don't have insurance, the government (that is the taxpayers) is going to pay for it.

There is a group of people who won't wear a seat belt and it costs the rest of society (thru medicare) when they get in an accident. The only way to try and get them to buckle up is to impose some kind of penalty for not putting them on.

Money always gets people motivated.

Yea...but you stole Flex's avatar.

Originally Posted by milliman

Come on guys. Anybody above the level of an ameoba knows you are safer with a seat belt on. If you get hurt in an accident and don't have insurance, the government (that is the taxpayers) is going to pay for it.

There is a group of people who won't wear a seat belt and it costs the rest of society (thru medicare) when they get in an accident. The only way to try and get them to buckle up is to impose some kind of penalty for not putting them on.

Money always gets people motivated.

You have to be at the level of an amoeba to think the Government does much of anything to keep us safe. Its all about finding new ways to decrease our economic freedom and feed the war machine.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but we don't get ANYTHING for seat belt tickets. And a quota is just a belief. No police department I know has a quota. That could be a lawsuit big time! I have seen several wrecks in person where the car has flipped and the car is laying on the person when I get there. Gurgling and gasping for air. If you ever see that, I promise you it is not a pretty site and you will wear your sealt belt. It's so easy to do. Don't not do it for safety sake!! Besides, the police are just enforcing the law, not making them.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

You have to be at the level of an amoeba to think the Government does much of anything to keep us safe. Its all about finding new ways to decrease our economic freedom and feed the war machine.

Let me get this straight...... You're actually making the claim that Seatbelt Law is there to "decrease our economic freedom" and feed the "war machine"?!? You figure this all out on your own or is it spelled out in some conspiracy theory somewhere?

Originally Posted by Witmaster

Let me get this straight...... You're actually making the claim that Seatbelt Law is there to "decrease our economic freedom" and feed the "war machine"?!? You figure this all out on your own or is it spelled out in some conspiracy theory somewhere?

Conspiracy theory???? ok....The seat belt law is one of hundreds of extra taxes, and serves no other purpose than to create more revenue for the Government.