Just buckle up. My kids trained me. 90% of highway deaths are due to being ejected. When reading fatal accident stories, that factoid often appears.
Do you wear a seatbelt when riding in the BACKSEAT of a car?
- Thread starter warrenf
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I'm strange. Never wear a seatbelt, unless my wife throws a fit, but I won't start my motorcycle without a helmet on, ever.
If you don't buckle up, in many US states you are being a jerk to the driver because the driver is responsible for passengers doing so and can be cited, fined.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Absolutely, I’m not an idiot. The only time I don’t wear a seatbelt is if I’m just pulling my car out of the garage.
I've seen videos of rollovers. There may not be as bad a front impact risk because of the seat rather than the windshield/steering column/pillars, but it's still potentially dangerous. But getting ejected is the most serious risk. In in rollover, the windows often shatter and the passengers gets ejected out the side where the vehicle just crushes the former passenger. And then there's the risk of getting run over by another vehicle.
All things considered, the safest thing is to be buckled in.
You're more than strange. Some would say you're lucky, but it's probably just the probability curve. About 1.25 deaths per 100 million miles driven and people average 13k miles a year. It's possible to beat the odds every year, but one day it may catch up to you.
It's just a risk reduction strategy. I always wear a seatbelt no matter if I'm front or back. Probably doesn't matter if you get crushed by a semi trailer truck, but those types of accidents are rare.
It's not completely senseless, it's a good warning/reminder to others. But as it's clear in this thread, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Or my favorite, data data everywhere, but not a thought to think.
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AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
You forgot if your car goes into water....
It feels odd to not have a seatbelt/shoulder belt on.
For those people you just get them this tool and I'm sure they still won't wear a seatbelt.You forgot if your car goes into water....
It feels odd to not have a seatbelt/shoulder belt on.
https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Escape-Breaker-Reflective-Survival/dp/B07QDQ7MJD
That mostly applies if the occupant is a minor. If they are an adult, they will be ticketed.
Dude, you're one idiot texter away from disaster every time you drive. The more times you escape, just increases the likelihood.
It is stupidity to not wear a belt. Period.
I know someone whose college aged daughter was driving and not wearing a belt. She was involved in a accident and the car she was driving rolled. Her side window was down since it was warm out.
It so happened that her head and upper body went out the window while the car rolled. Her head was crushed between the car and the pavement.
She “lived” for two weeks in the hospital on a ventilator until her parents decided to pull the plug. She had her whole life ahead of her. Gone in a flash.
I know someone whose college aged daughter was driving and not wearing a belt. She was involved in a accident and the car she was driving rolled. Her side window was down since it was warm out.
It so happened that her head and upper body went out the window while the car rolled. Her head was crushed between the car and the pavement.
She “lived” for two weeks in the hospital on a ventilator until her parents decided to pull the plug. She had her whole life ahead of her. Gone in a flash.
Everyone should check their state (or any traveled within), in some it is not relevant whether the occupant is a minor, both driver and passenger can be ticketed... still a jerk move by the passenger to give police a reason to pull the driver over and then who knows what happens next. "You look suspicious, time to get the dogs for a false narcotic alert if you don't consent to having your vehicle ripped apart in a search", etc.
Always, even before they were legally required - with the exception of a '62 Chevy II I owned as a young fellow. It had no seatbelts.
My next car was a '70 Corolla, which came without seatbelts. It was not uncommon back then for people to remove them. I drove the car for a year without belts, and then finally bought a set from the wrecker. Two weeks later, a novice driver came through a stop sign, hit my car, and redirected it into a telephone pole. The car was written off, and I don't think I would have fared well without a seatbelt. One of my better purchases.
My next car was a '70 Corolla, which came without seatbelts. It was not uncommon back then for people to remove them. I drove the car for a year without belts, and then finally bought a set from the wrecker. Two weeks later, a novice driver came through a stop sign, hit my car, and redirected it into a telephone pole. The car was written off, and I don't think I would have fared well without a seatbelt. One of my better purchases.
It's hard to do the math. As previously mentioned about 1.25 deaths per 100 million miles. But 47% of deaths were from people not wearing seatbelts. Nationally about 86% of the people wear seatbelts. So you get 14% of the population adding up to 47% of the deaths.
Anyway, not sure what the correct way to spin that math might be. Maybe 3.3 times more likely to die without a seat belt? Or maybe death rate is 1.25 for 33 million miles?
Basically the more you drive, the greater the likelihood of an accident. If I did the math right, maybe about a 5 in 10,000 chance of death a year based on 13k miles a year which is average. People buy lottery tickets with much worse odds. If I do the flip calculation, I get about 1 in 10,000. So putting on a seat belt makes it 5 times less likely to die.
Yes. For the same reason I wear one when I fly coach on an airplane.
Yes Always!! And when riding, I'm an advocate of ATGATT
Out of curiosity why would you not wear a seatbelt?
Out of curiosity why would you not wear a seatbelt?
Always. Like I tell people when asked if I wear my seatbelt, “ I don’t care if I’m in the back row of a 15 passenger van, my seatbelt goes on”.
Thats a rule of riding in my truck, buckle up if youre a passenger. And Im ALWAYS available to be a designated driver. I tell family and friends it doesnt matter what time it is, you drink and need a ride, call me.
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