BigMikeinNY Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 This "CLICK it or TICKET" campaign that's flying through NY during the Memorial Day holiday is an absolute joke. I gotta be honest, sometimes I wear my seatbelt, sometimes I don't. Whether I wear it or not should, not be the government's choice. I am not harming any other people on the road by not wearing my seatbelt 50% of the time. The fact that I can get a $200 fine over it is nutty! What's next?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCharger Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Welcome to Nanny Nation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wirehairman Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hate to break it to you, but the state is really not concerned with your well being but their own. State and federal transportation departments pay millions of dollars (Big John probably has actual numbers handy) every year to settle lawsuits because people wrecked on their roads. Forcing you to wear a seat belt is one way to protect themselves from potential law suits from your next of kin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 We really care about you Revenue Generator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chappy Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 This "CLICK it or TICKET" campaign that's flying through NY during the Memorial Day holiday is an absolute joke. I gotta be honest, sometimes I wear my seatbelt, sometimes I don't. Whether I wear it or not should, not be the government's choice. I am not harming any other people on the road by not wearing my seatbelt 50% of the time. The fact that I can get a $200 fine over it is nutty! What's next?? I agree with you entirely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 We really care about you Revenue Generator. Ding ding! If you think you're more than just a source of revenue and power to the government, you're deluding yourself. Yeah, uhh, except for Obama, Hillary and McCain. You can believe them - they care... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hate to break it to you, but the state is really not concerned with your well being but their own. State and federal transportation departments pay millions of dollars (Big John probably has actual numbers handy) every year to settle lawsuits because people wrecked on their roads. Forcing you to wear a seat belt is one way to protect themselves from potential law suits from your next of kin. Not to mention protecting "safe" consumers from having to pay higher insurance premiums to cover your medical costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grits and Shins Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hate to break it to you, but the state is really not concerned with your well being but their own. State and federal transportation departments pay millions of dollars (Big John probably has actual numbers handy) every year to settle lawsuits because people wrecked on their roads. Forcing you to wear a seat belt is one way to protect themselves from potential law suits from your next of kin. I call bullsit on this. I agree that the state is not concerned about your well being. However, seat belt laws exist because they are easily enacted feel good laws. The government makes themselves feel better when they protect us in this way ... and they can point to this type of legislation to tell all their sheep that they do care. I doubt very much that state and federal transportation departments pay millions of dollars to settle law suits over wrecks ... that is the perview of insurance companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swashbucklers Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Just this morning I went through a "seatbelt enforcement zone" and was wondering how many people would have to get ticketed to pay for all the cops that were there. They were there from surrounding cities, and there must have been ten plus cop cars for an area that doesn't have more than three! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Regardless of whether it is the law or not, I don't understand why people wouldn't wear a seatbelt anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Public Safety is a thinly veiled attempt to create more revenue for the State. It negatively afftects your personal liberties, those same liberties that our founding fathers thought enough of as to speak of them in our Declaration of Independence. Since then, the State (and you may use this term for any governmental entity you wish) has systematically stripped you of these liberties in the guise of the public good. All the while each and every one of you is complicit in it by not loudly voicing your displeasure at the polls, in print, on the street, and any where else your voice can be heard. Vote Libertarian! The party of personal liberty AND personal responsibility! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grits and Shins Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Regardless of whether it is the law or not, I don't understand why people wouldn't wear a seatbelt anyway. Certainly this is a valid observation but does not give the government the right to legislate compliance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Certainly this is a valid observation but does not give the government the right to legislate compliance. Harrumph! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controller Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 (edited) I have a good friend that is a California highway patrolman. He would tell you that not wearing your seatbelt is simply irresponsible to your loved ones. He has numerous stories of accidents he has seen that would turn your stomach. Along the lines of the classic "Red Asphalt" movies. I used to be like Big MIke and not want to wear my seatbelt all the time. But after listening to some of my buddies stories, I was convinced. Edited May 19, 2008 by Controller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grits and Shins Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I have a good friend that is a California highway patrolman. He would tell you that not wearing your seatbelt is simply irresponsible to your loved ones. He has numerous stories of accidents he has seen that would turn your stomach. Along the lines of the classic "Red Asphalt" movies. I used to be like Big MIke and not want to wear my seatbelt all the time. But after listening to some of my buddies stories, I was convinced. Nothing you have said gives the government the right to tell a private citizen they must buckle up or pay a fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDFFFreak Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Regardless of whether it is the law or not, I don't understand why people wouldn't wear a seatbelt anyway. Pretty much my thoughts. I understand personal freedom of choice, but this should be a no brainer thing to do (and this is coming from a very lazy person). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grits and Shins Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Pretty much my thoughts. I understand personal freedom of choice, but this should be a no brainer thing to do (and this is coming from a very lazy person). So if you believe the government has the right to tell you to buckle up for your own safety. Do they also have the right to tell you not to eat saturated fats because it is a health risk? Do they have the right to tell you not to smoke because it damages your health? Do they have the right to tell you that you must wear sun screen to prevent skin cancer? If not ... what is the difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 you shouldnt be ticketed if you put 100k into an escrow account to be used for your medical, public service, and any other cost associated with a non-seatbelt injury or death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 It's fairly common and accepted knowledge that wearing your seat belt keeps you in better position to keep control of your car, especially if hit from the side. If you've been in an accident, you probably know this. Driving is a right, not a privilege and enforcements to ensure the safest possible driving environment should be kept in place. How the money gets spent after collection is another topic entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I call bullsit on this. I agree that the state is not concerned about your well being. However, seat belt laws exist because they are easily enacted feel good laws. The government makes themselves feel better when they protect us in this way ... and they can point to this type of legislation to tell all their sheep that they do care. I doubt very much that state and federal transportation departments pay millions of dollars to settle law suits over wrecks ... that is the perview of insurance companies. While your statement may be a byproduct of a seatbelt law [feel good law], the state and transportation departments do in fact spend a lot of money on various items related to seat belts. The law suits are but one item, there is also the repairs to any safety devices on the roads which are damaged [i.e. guard rails, reflectors, street signs, street lights, etc], the costs for having accident scene re-creators investigating the scene and by the cost i also mean the additional resources needed such as forensics investigators, investigations into the make/model of the cars involved to see if they have some faulty piece of equipment that may have attributed to the crash, if it is determined during the investigation that the road itself was a factor then there is additional funding directed to repair the defect in the road. Then there is the cost to auto insurance companies that have to pay out for personal injury and as we all know insurance companies have very good lobbyists on their payroll. There is much more to this than a feel good law. Public Safety is a thinly veiled attempt to create more revenue for the State. It negatively afftects your personal liberties, those same liberties that our founding fathers thought enough of as to speak of them in our Declaration of Independence. Since then, the State (and you may use this term for any governmental entity you wish) has systematically stripped you of these liberties in the guise of the public good. All the while each and every one of you is complicit in it by not loudly voicing your displeasure at the polls, in print, on the street, and any where else your voice can be heard. Vote Libertarian! The party of personal liberty AND personal responsibility! I disagree. The first and foremost function of a government is to protect its citizens. I fail to see how placing a seatbelt law on the books negatively effects your personal liberties. You still have the choice to wear or not wear a seat belt but there is a penalty involved if you are caught. This is different than say, murder. You can choice to kill someone but the penalty is imprisonment or death, whereas with the seatbelt you only have to pay a fine. The people who pick up the torch and scream about personal liberties being stripped because of a seat belt law are only looking to rattle their sabers. The statistics show that that you have a much better chance of survival wearing a seat belt than without one. This is a matter of the government protecting the citizens and the government protecting their bottom line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wirehairman Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I have a good friend that is a California highway patrolman. He would tell you that not wearing your seatbelt is simply irresponsible to your loved ones. He has numerous stories of accidents he has seen that would turn your stomach. Along the lines of the classic "Red Asphalt" movies. I used to be like Big MIke and not want to wear my seatbelt all the time. But after listening to some of my buddies stories, I was convinced. Room to Live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I disagree. The first and foremost function of a government is to protect its citizens. I fail to see how placing a seatbelt law on the books negatively effects your personal liberties. You still have the choice to wear or not wear a seat belt but there is a penalty involved if you are caught. This is different than say, murder. You can choice to kill someone but the penalty is imprisonment or death, whereas with the seatbelt you only have to pay a fine. The people who pick up the torch and scream about personal liberties being stripped because of a seat belt law are only looking to rattle their sabers. The statistics show that that you have a much better chance of survival wearing a seat belt than without one. This is a matter of the government protecting the citizens and the government protecting their bottom line. OK Cliaz, then it's the state's role to mandate what you eat? How much you excercise? How much/whether you smoke or drink? I wear my seatbelt everywhere, and my helmet when on my motorcycle. It should still be my choice, not a requirement of the nanny state for me to do so. It's not a valid function of government to protect you from your own bad decisions. If it were, half your posts would be intercepted by some government censor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 It's fairly common and accepted knowledge that wearing your seat belt keeps you in better position to keep control of your car, especially if hit from the side. If you've been in an accident, you probably know this. Driving is a right, not a privilege and enforcements to ensure the safest possible driving environment should be kept in place. How the money gets spent after collection is another topic entirely. I think you meant to say driving is a privilege, not a right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBalata Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Regardless of whether it is the law or not, I don't understand why people wouldn't wear a seatbelt anyway. From recent personal experience I can safely say I would not be here to type this if I wasn't a seat belt wearer. Anyone who thinks they shouldnt have to, obviously needs a little guidance in their life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCharger Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Wearing a seatbelt is obviously a smart thing todo. However it's not the governments job to protect us from ourselves, it's to protect us from others. I say let the idiots die off naturally, that way there are less around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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