Do you wear yours?

[Westernskies]

I always wear my seat belt, out of a warped sense of personal responsibility.

 

[Nodak]

If leaving town I always wear my seatbelt. I don't wear it in town, but town is 1500 people, one stop light, and a speed limit of 25 mph.

 

[Westernskies]

If leaving town I always wear my seatbelt. I don't wear it in town, but town is 1500 people, one stop light, and a speed limit of 25 mph.

...with two taverns at opposite ends of town (Ugly's Bar and Hanks Corner) I'd say you have a pretty cavalier attitude about wearing your seat belt...

 

[Nodak]

...with two taverns at opposite ends of town (Ugly's Bar and Hanks Corner) I'd say you have a pretty cavalier attitude about wearing your seat belt...

You got Ugly's bar right but Hank's Corner is 14 miles west of here. We do have Sammy's and the Office.

 

[ERD50]

If leaving town I always wear my seatbelt. I don't wear it in town, but town is 1500 people, one stop light, and a speed limit of 25 mph.

I'm pretty sure those scary crash test videos we see are done at 35mph. I've even heard of deaths from hitting the windshield just the wrong way, at 15mph speed.

I put mine on even if I'm moving the car from one end of a parking lot to another. I want to be in the habit 100% of the time. And if I suddenly decide to go home rather than the other end of the parking lot, I don't want to let that to lead to me being on the streets w/o my seat belt on.

A seat belt probably saved my life. I was going slow, ready to turn. The other guy blew a stop sign, so I don't want to count on the other guy obeying the 25mph speed limit either.

-ERD50

 

[mickeyd]

I used to be terrible about strapping on the seat belt until my son (when he was about age 5 or so) would always remind me to buckle up. I would always thank him for "saving my life" and until he heard the click he would stay on the case. I don't need his assistance any more, but I always buckle up while driving away. Probably not an ideal situation.

 

[easysurfer]

I used to be terrible about strapping on the seat belt until my son (when he was about age 5 or so) would always remind me to buckle up. I would always thank him for "saving my life" and until he heard the click he would stay on the case. I don't need his assistance any more, but I always buckle up while driving away. Probably not an ideal situation.

That's sweet about your son "saving your life". Reminds me of the story with Barbara Mandrell who wasn't a seat-belt wearer. Then one day, driving with her kids she decided to wear them and that saved them.

 

[Glo]

I'm guilty of not always wearing a seat belt. When we lived in a large city, I always did. But when we moved to a rural area, I only wear the seat belt when I'm on the freeway or crowded streets. I'm not short, but I've always had problems with that dang thing choking me!

 

[REWahoo]

When I was a kid I was thrown from a moving car when the door flew open as we were turning a corner. Fortunately we were going slow, I landed in grass and wasn't injured. That was in the days before seat belts were available. Maybe that's why now I feel uncomfortable not wearing one and always buckle up, no mater how short the trip.

 

[Rustic23]

this explaines a lot about your post!

 

[REWahoo]

Yep. Now you know why I wear this:

 

[Nords]

If leaving town I always wear my seatbelt. I don't wear it in town, but town is 1500 people, one stop light, and a speed limit of 25 mph.

So what are you saying-- that you're less likely to die in town, or less vulnerable to dying at a lower velocity?

I'm only asking as someone whose tax dollars may someday be paying for your life support. Otherwise, carry on...

 

[Rustic23]

I like the Texas motorcycle helmet law. Prove you have health insurance and you don't have to wear your helmet.

 

[Nodak]

So what are you saying-- that you're less likely to die in town, or less vulnerable to dying in town?

I'm only asking as someone whose tax dollars may someday be paying for your life support. Otherwise, carry on...

Traffic does not travel normally above 25 mph. Most of the time one is going less than 20 mph as a block is only about 500 feet and most intersections do not have stop signs. In modern cars with air bags it would be almost impossible to be seriously hurt in a 20 mph accident. In my 63 years I am unaware of a single time anyone was seriously hurt in an accident in town. The worst I am aware of has been the odd fender bender. And those happen very rarely, maybe once or twice a year. If you haven't lived in an area like this it is hard to understand. We have had some unusual accidents. Our main street is diagonal parking and on one occasion two elderly drivers backed out from opposite sides of the street and rear ended each other. If you're curious look up Cavalier ND on Google Earth there are street level views of both the highways through town.

 

[Nords]

Traffic does not travel normally above 25 mph. Most of the time one is going less than 20 mph as a block is only about 500 feet and most intersections do not have stop signs. In modern cars with air bags it would be almost impossible to be seriously hurt in a 20 mph accident. In my 63 years I am unaware of a single time anyone was seriously hurt in an accident in town. The worst I am aware of has been the odd fender bender. And those happen very rarely, maybe once or twice a year. If you haven't lived in an area like this it is hard to understand. We have had some unusual accidents. Our main street is diagonal parking and on one occasion two elderly drivers backed out from opposite sides of the street and rear ended each other. If you're curious look up Cavalier ND on Google Earth there are street level views of both the highways through town.

This reminds me of CuteFuzzyBunny's paper bag analogy: "I've put a paper bag on my head and run back & forth across this four-lane highway. So far so good!"

I'd wear a seatbelt even if I was driving at 10 MPH on my driveway.

Maybe Leonidas or Walt34 have pictures of 20 MPH accidents.

 

[Nodak]

This reminds me of CuteFuzzyBunny's paper bag analogy: "I've put a paper bag on my head and run back & forth across this four-lane highway. So far so good!"

I'd wear a seatbelt even if I was driving at 10 MPH on my driveway.

Maybe Leonidas or Walt34 have pictures of 20 MPH accidents.

I will patiently await production of said pictures.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Always.

When I was an enlisted man at that little post outside of Highland Falls, I saw the original National Safety Council research reports on
A) how much better your odds were to survive a wreck with seatbelts than without, and
B) how less severe your injuries were if you did survive.

With photographs. It is surprising what a face looks like after it goes through a windshield.

Our kids are faithful about them, too. One less thing to worry about.

 

[TromboneAl]

I used to live on a street with a 25 mph limit. For a while, once a day there was this teenager that drove through at 60 mph.

Posted with iPod.

 

[Walt34]

Maybe Leonidas or Walt34 have pictures of 20 MPH accidents.

No photos, but bear in mind a prizefighter's knockout punch moves around 19 mph.

I'll admit I never saw a 20-mph-fatal car accident, or even one with serious injuries, but because of the inverse square law regarding forces of impact the picture changes dramatically at speeds above that. I have seen fatals at 35 mph.

In accidents involving people outside the steel cage of a car (pedestrians, bicyclists) I've seen fatals at 15 mph. There was one of those locally a couple of days ago involving a 13-year-old girl on a bicycle in a quiet residential area.

 

[Amethyst]

Nodak, with all due respect, you could put on and take off your seat belts 25 times in the amount of time you have spent justifying why you don't wear a seat belt. I'm just saying....Unexpected things can happen, even in North Dakota (which I visited once, and liked very much). Stay safe.

Amethyst

Traffic does not travel normally above 25 mph. Most of the time one is going less than 20 mph as a block is only about 500 feet and most intersections do not have stop signs. In modern cars with air bags it would be almost impossible to be seriously hurt in a 20 mph accident. In my 63 years I am unaware of a single time anyone was seriously hurt in an accident in town. The worst I am aware of has been the odd fender bender. And those happen very rarely, maybe once or twice a year. If you haven't lived in an area like this it is hard to understand. We have had some unusual accidents. Our main street is diagonal parking and on one occasion two elderly drivers backed out from opposite sides of the street and rear ended each other. If you're curious look up Cavalier ND on Google Earth there are street level views of both the highways through town.

 

[Nodak]

Nodak, with all due respect, you could put on and take off your seat belts 25 times in the amount of time you have spent justifying why you don't wear a seat belt. I'm just saying....Unexpected things can happen, even in North Dakota (which I visited once, and liked very much). Stay safe.

Amethyst

Please understand, I do wear my seat belt whenever I leave the confines of Cavalier. I will also tell you that, as far as I can tell, the cops don't even wear belts while in town. I suspect that most on here don't understand how small and isolated this area is; Pembina County covers 900 square miles and contains fewer than 9,000 people. On Friday I had some business to take care of in a town 30 miles from here. I drove on paved county roads for the 60 mile round trip and in that whole trip in between the two towns I saw exactly 5 other vehicles and two of them were massive John Deere tractors. This area is as flat as a table top and one can see for 10 miles in any direction. It is as safe as anyplace on earth.

 

[Nords]

It's so reassuring to know that the laws of both physics and Murphy have apparently been suspended in your area.

You have a nice life now.

 

[travelover]

Learning that most accidents happen within 25 miles of your home was a major reason for my move.

 

[Rustic23]

I don't understand the animosity towards Nodak. It is his choice. I don't live in his community, I don't know how populated it is, I don't know what the real dangers are. He seems like a reasonable intelligent person and is making his own decisions as he perceives the risk in his area.

I see surfing as a potentially dangerous sport. Boards can get away, even if strapped, and someone could be hit in the head, become a vegetable and we would have to pay for his medical bills for the rest of his life. The simple act of wearing protective headgear could solve this. Let's pass a law.

And, that is just about the dumbest suggestion I have heard!

 

[ERD50]

I don't understand the animosity ...

I don't think it's animosity. I think it is people trying to be helpful and open his eyes to something he might not be fully understanding.

I think the surfer understands the risk. No sense talking after that, but if one isn't understanding the risk, talking *might* still help.

-ERD50