Citation for failure to wear the seat belt

[Orchidflower]

When I first moved to Houston in the early '80's a realtor told me--and rightly, too--that Houston was probably the only city in America that you could go 55 mph down the main street in town and not get ticketed. What happened, Houston? Dang! This means I have to follow the law if I go back there...pooh!
Really, the OP has a point, tho. If you haven't lived in Houston you have no idea the lack of Police there when it comes to traffic. You never see any hardly.

 

[ziggy29]

I think not wearing a seat belt is just stupid. However, I am strongly opposed to the mandatory seat belt law, as I have stated elsewhere on here. I don't think you will find many pilots that don't wear a seat belt. Now I don't always wear a helmet on my scooter or bike.

I feel naked without wearing a seat belt in the car. Having said that, I think if a competent, consenting adult wants to sign a waiver agreeing not to make the government or the insurance company responsible for the cost of their treatment in an accident and they post a $100,000 bond to that effect to back it up, let them have their freedom and let Darwin settle it.

 

[RonBoyd]

I feel naked without wearing a seat belt in the car. Having said that, I think if a competent, consenting adult wants to sign a waiver agreeing not to make the government or the insurance company responsible for the cost of their treatment in an accident and they post a $100,000 bond to that effect to back it up, let them have their freedom and let Darwin settle it.

Diddo for those that go "hiking" in the mountains... particularly during the winter months. A $100,000 might cover the cost of the rescue.

Of course, they may well be the same people.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I agree with ziggy. Anymore, I am so used to wearing the seat belt, that I feel uncomfortable until I'm buckled up. Really folks, this is just another habit, albeit a good one. My family was driven by my son, a firefighter, who is a safety freak. He will not start the car until everyone is buckled up. He has told me some stories that would make your skin crawl about car wrecks he has been called on. He said the ones that got him the most were those of little kids that were killed for lack of wearing a seatbelt. He's convinced us all. Do yourself a favor and buckle up. IT'S THE LAW!!

 

[Leonidas]

I've heard this so many times. Not the drunk driving part, but the aggressive driving part. They say it, but don't follow up. Here in the DC area they put up many $100Ks worth of signs about "Aggressive Driving Imaging". I read something a couple years later that not a single ticket had been issued... I also think it's something that is very difficult to prove and prosecute, unless you can lead it with a speeding ticket.

No aggressive driving law in Texas as far as I know. An aggressive driver is, after all, defined by his/her actions, so just write citations for those actions (speed, unsafe lane change, unsafe distance, etc.)

When I first moved to Houston in the early '80's a realtor told me--and rightly, too--that Houston was probably the only city in America that you could go 55 mph down the main street in town and not get ticketed. What happened, Houston? Dang! This means I have to follow the law if I go back there...pooh!
Really, the OP has a point, tho. If you haven't lived in Houston you have no idea the lack of Police there when it comes to traffic. You never see any hardly.

There's a few places in California that are like it, but for the most part Houston is a combination race track and demolition derby.

They do seem to be getting serious about actually enforcing traffic laws. Drove through H-Town today to go out to Spring, saw more guys shooting Lidar and Radar on the freeways than I have since...I moved here.

They have a nice strategy now using undercover cars to drive on the freeways spotting violations. They have a whole fleet of marked cars trailing behind them, or arrayed out in front of them, to make the stops. One car knocks down 5-6 violators in five-ten minutes. Flip flop to the other side, collect a new crew of marked units, and then they do it going the other direction. From what I've heard, they're writing people for everything - no more Mr. Nice Guy. You change three lanes without signaling, you get written for all three.

Two videos - first the news story on KPRC. Second one is a guy actually catching an operation on video.

YouTube - Houston TX News Story on Undercover speeding operation

This guy makes his videos too long, but listen to the scanner he's listening too and you can hear the undercover car calling out all the violations spotted on each car as he whistles in the marked units for the stop. One sounded like it violated the whole uniform traffic code - following too close, speeding, unsafe lane changes, failure to signal intent.

YouTube - Houston Texas HPD undercover speeding operation

Houston is not a model traffic safety city, but playing a fool on the roadways is getting to be a costly game to play. Pass out multiple violation citations worth $1,000 or so and it might get peoples' attention.