Seatbelts....

[Slingblade61]

Wear them.
Observe the wayward 17 year old (my oldest) who was a passenger when the driver lost control on a dirt road and they hit a tree. Tyler ate the dash with his face. Fractured nose, small skull fracture, assorted nasal bones also broken.

This is a lucky kid. He will have his nose put back in place next Thursday, everything else will be left to heal on it's own.

yeah....I'm a little distracted.....again.

 

[mddubya]

Ouch, sorry to hear about his injuries, but thank goodness he is going to be ok.

 

[IrishGolfer]

Glad to hear that he is OK, it is the law to wear seat belt here in UK / Ireland. I now don't even have to think, it's automatic!

 

[mont86]

I hope for quick recovery. Glad he'll be all right.

 

[MCDavis]

Sorry to hear about that, boss...hope things go well for him.

I won't start driving until everyone is buckled up, so it's habit in our house! Frankly, I'm probably the worst one about not wearing one when I'm alone, but that's pretty rare now.

 

[eclark53520]

First off, glad to hear he is going to be alright!

I'm not one to preach about seat belts.

Honestly, someone not wearing their seatbelt doesn't affect me directly, nor does it affect anyone else but that person. The only way you can argue it would affect me is in an accident where i was found at fault....which my insurance may have to pay more for injuries if they were not wearing their seat belt than if they had. That's a stretch in my opinion, but it's a valid argument. Easy way to solve that; don't have an at fault accident.

 

[limpalong]

Glad the young man is okay. Hopefully, a painful lesson is learned and he buckles up from now on. I drive 30,000 to 40,000 miles/year. I've just developed a habit of always buckling up before starting the engine. If it's two blocks to the grocery store... across town to WalMart... or interstate highway driving, I never move the vehicle without my seat belt on. The seat belt alarm is activated in my truck so that the buzzer will sound if anyone sits in the passenger seat and does not buckle up. Very anal about seat belts, but have seen too much that can happen too quickly. Besides... I wouldn't want the handsomeness I have worked so hard to preserve over the years to be erased by a steering wheel imprint.

 

[MCDavis]

First off, glad to hear he is going to be alright!

I'm not one to preach about seat belts.

Honestly, someone not wearing their seatbelt doesn't affect me directly, nor does it affect anyone else but that person. The only way you can argue it would affect me is in an accident where i was found at fault....which my insurance may have to pay more for injuries if they were not wearing their seat belt than if they had. That's a stretch in my opinion, but it's a valid argument. Easy way to solve that; don't have an at fault accident.

So you're saying that Sling's son's accident hasn't affected anyone but the boy? I'm betting Sling would disagree with you on that one, eclark. In addition to dealing with an injured child (which could've been worse), consider this: since he's 17 and still a minor, he is probably on Sling's insurance policy. If he get's a seatbelt ticket, that could make Sling's insurance cost go up. And trust me, insuring a teen age inexperienced driver these days costs a tremendous amount of money. We've already told my step-son if he gets 1 ticket, we'll have to cancel his insurance completely and he'll be walking. It's literally that expensive.

 

[eclark53520]

So you're saying that Sling's son's accident hasn't affected anyone but the boy? I'm betting Sling would disagree with you on that one, eclark. In addition to dealing with an injured child (which could've been worse), consider this: since he's 17 and still a minor, he is probably on Sling's insurance policy. If he get's a seatbelt ticket, that could make Sling's insurance cost go up. And trust me, insuring a teen age inexperienced driver these days costs a tremendous amount of money. We've already told my step-son if he gets 1 ticket, we'll have to cancel his insurance completely and he'll be walking. It's literally that expensive.

Let me preface my first post by stating that only applies to persons of the age of majority. Minors should obey their parents wishes.

 

[MCDavis]

Let me preface my first post by stating that only applies to persons of the age of majority. Minors should obey their parents wishes.

Fair enough, but then consider this: You don't wear your seat belt and you get killed....how's that affect your family?

I know what you're saying, and I used to have the same attitude. I've come to realize that it's not that simple. Could you handle knowing you had a wreck that was your fault and the other person died because he wasn't wearing a seat belt? There's all kinds of ways that others can be affected by a seat belt choice.

 

[eclark53520]

Fair enough, but then consider this: You don't wear your seat belt and you get killed....how's that affect your family?

I know what you're saying, and I used to have the same attitude. I've come to realize that it's not that simple. Could you handle knowing you had a wreck that was your fault and the other person died because he wasn't wearing a seat belt? There's all kinds of ways that others can be affected by a seat belt choice.

Wouldn't bother me one bit. He/she made the choice to not wear their seat belt. It was their choice to make, not mine, not the governments, not their spouses, not their kids. I would be bothered much more by the fact that I had an at fault accident, which means my actions were negligent. Regardless of whether the other driver died or not I would be extremely angry with myself.

I don't mean to come off as an emotionless a$$hole, but that's the truth. It's their life, they should live it by their own choices when it doesn't affect the lives of others.

 

[JEFF4i]

Wouldn't bother me one bit. He/she made the choice to not wear their seat belt. It was their choice to make, not mine, not the governments, not their spouses, not their kids. I would be bothered much more by the fact that I had an at fault accident, which means my actions were negligent. Regardless of whether the other driver died or not I would be extremely angry with myself.

I don't mean to come off as an emotionless a$$hole, but that's the truth. It's their life, they should live it by their own choices when it doesn't affect the lives of others.

The truth as you see it, not the absolute truth. And it DOES affect the lives of others.

That said, wishing your son a quick recovery Sling.

 

[Slingblade61]

It's certainly going to affect the drivers family when I sue their insurance company.
They'll get a rather large increase in their premiums I should think.

 

[SilverUberXeno]

How can you sue their insurance company for injuries that were clearly caused by personal negligence?

I was in a head-on collision at 50mph and walked away with some ankle lacerations because I had my seatbelt on. I don't even drive through a parking lot with my seatbelt off. If I'm waiting for someone outside a store, I have my seatbelt on. It is so easy, and it's just INSANE not to have it on.

Your son is SO lucky, but I hope you're NOT focusing on that. I hope you're saying, "You could be dead. Perhaps you SHOULD be dead. You are SO lucky that you were able to survive with only minor injuries." A seatbelt improves survival by such a massive, incredible degree that it is almost criminal negligence against oneself and one's own loved ones to not wear it.

In truth, I am with eClark. I have NO sympathy for people who put themselves at such unnecessary risk. You can be a perfect driver and someone can hit YOU, and that seatbelt will save your life. If someone chooses to bear that risk... I feel bad for their families, but what the hell? I also have NO sympathy for people who get behind the wheel, hammered, and then crash into a tree and lose their life.

There are a LOT of stupid things people do that could be prevented, or mitigated in a MAJOR way. Sling, I am truly glad you don't have to go through the heartache of losing a loved one over something SO preventable, but I'd be coming down with a very heavy iron fist about this. How DARE a person put themselves at such risk? Not wearing a seatbelt is just a slight bit of "motive" away from being suicidal. Wanting to end one's life versus not caring to preserve one's life. It makes me shudder.

Life can happen FAST. Death can happen FASTER. Either way, wear you're ****ing seatbelt.

 

[Slingblade61]

How can you sue their insurance company for injuries that were clearly caused by personal negligence?

The driver failed to maintain control of the vehicle and hit a tree. That's how.