Public Service Announcement

[Willy]

Wear your seatbelts!

My trip to the emergency room yesterday
Late yesterday afternoon, Mrs Willy hit a tree in our yard yesterday with her Dad's pickup. She wasn't wearing a seat belt and got banged around in the cab a bit, but nothing major wrong with her. That Dodge Ram is a different story. It's going to need a new front end cap and hood and some work on the doors as well. Her Dad is like me, just tickled that she wasn't hurt any worse than what she is. The truck can be fixed.

She left her folks next door and drove over to our house to pickup something before going on to town for her mom. Pulled into the yard, hit the brake and the truck took off. Come to find out that it's done it with both her Dad and Mom before too. Good thing the tree was in the way or she'd have hit the house.

Took her to the emergency room about 5pm when she said her neck was throbbing (she had a some vertebrae fused a couple of years ago so that was of some concern). It was about 9 before she got to see the Dr. Small country hospital, just one Dr on duty and all the local crazies were making their Saturday night visit to the ER. So it was almost 2 am before we got out of there.

Anyway, she's fine, just banged up a bit. Says she's not driving that truck anymore and hopes her dad trades it in when it's fixed. I just hope she starts wearing her seat belt when just going next door.

[AndyG43]

Can I echo that please. My Czech lady friend is currently paying regular visits to the hospital bed of a friend who was not wearing his belt when he his another vehicle on Thursday night; he was not so lucky as Mrs Willy, and has been in a coma since the accident - frankly the prognosis is bleak. So, even if your journey is only a couple of minutes, make sure that you & all your passengers belt up!!

[Roger]

Glad she's relatively ok Willy. In the UK it's a legal requirement and the last time I forgot to wear one was about 15 years ago when a Police car that was following me pulled me over and gave me a ticket. I have never forgotten since.

[Willy]

It's illegal to be in a car on a public road here without one. She's been bad about if just going next door to not wear one, saying "nothing's going to happen" to the point of fussing at me because I do wear one. I had a bad head-on collision years ago when not wearing one and don't care to repeat the experience.

[Tako_Kichi]

Wearing a seat belt has been a legal requirement for me ever since I started driving 30+ years ago regardless of which country I lived in. I'm at the point now where I feel uncomfortable if I am not wearing one. I have been known to put it on to drive down our 150ft long driveway and back (just out of shear habit!)

The same applies to crash helmets too, I would never ride a motorcycle without one and nowadays I am leery about riding a bicycle without a helmet since my bones have become so brittle and weak since I became ill.

[Tom Clayton]

The only time I'm not wearing either a belt in the jeep or a lid on the bike is if I'm not leaving the park where we live. I know I won't be going more than about 20 MPH. I have to admit that I like the feel of the wind in my face at those slower speeds, at higher speeds, my eyes water so badly from the wind that I absolutely can't see a dang thing. I've also been in two bike wrecks, one of which the back of my helmet smacked the asphalt below the beanie line. For that reason, I wear a full-face modular. At slow speeds or at stoplights, I'll raise the chin bar, but otherwise I keep my head fully encased!

[Wittpilot]

I can echo the sentiments about feeling weird when not wearing one... Even growing up, not wearing a seatbelt, regardless of the situation, was inacceptable. Today, watch and pay attention at the people that pass you and see how many people wear their seatbelt.

Willy & Others, I mean absolutely no disrespect when I say it, but often times you can tell just by the car the person is driving if they are wearing their seatbelt. At least here in Ohio, it seems there is always a certain class of society that shun the seat belt.....and me thinks I helped somehow split their bill for their automobile......

[TARPSBird]

My wife Sophie had a similar experience some years ago when a tie rod on our old Nissan pickup broke and she hit a phone pole. Totalled out the Nissan but Sophie was just shook up a bit. Had she not been wearing her belt I'm sure she would've been seriously injured. Just noticed recently a few yards past her pole there is a tree with bark missing and a flower bouquet memorial at the base. Apparently somebody had a way more serious accident than Sophie's. :frown:

[BurningBeard]

I may be wrong, but I believe you do not have to wear one in California if the car did not come equipped with them. My truck, a 66 Ford does not have shoulder harnesses but does have lap belts (though they were not required equipment at time of purchase). So if you were driving an older vehicle you are probably clear not to wear them because they just aren't there.

Beard

[Railrunner130]

Thirty years ago my mom got a new car and she decided that that was a good time to make everyone wear seatbelts in her car. As a result, I now put on a seatbelt without even thinking about it.

[aeromed202]

Don't forget the roll-overs too. With the huge popularity of SUVs (stupid upsidedown vehicles to us) seat belts are life savers. You cannot foresee when you might have to swerve, or blow a tire and these things were just made to spin dry. Without that belt you will be ejected and very likely be killed outright. But by taking 2.2 seconds to belt up, you should be restrained and kept inside the vehicle and likely walk away with a sore neck and a few scrapes. Unless you're transporting bowling balls. Just use the darn belt and make it home in one piece.

[Astoroth]

As a rescue firefighter I spent way too much time scraping up people that didn't wear their seatbelts.

Please, wear them so one of my brother firefighters won't have to walk along the highway with a bucket picking up pieces of you. (Yes, I've really had to do that.)

And please, make your passengers, especially children, wear their belts or restraints. We don't like picking them up even worse....

[n4gix]

I may be wrong, but I believe you do not have to wear one in California if the car did not come equipped with them.

When I lived in deep southeastern Texas back in the 80's, I was quite astonished to learn that while seat belts were required equipment, seats were not required equipment...

Legally, I could have used an orange crate in my ancient pickup truck, as long as I had the required seatbelts installed.:isadizzy:

That said however, I religiously use seatbelts even if it's only to back the car out of the garage to wash it!

[RedGreen]

Some excellent food for thought on the subject from Sgt. Joe Friday:

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[PRB]

I rolled my "Stupid Upsidedown Vehicle" once. Well, I didn't roll it. Some kid ran into it while it was going 60 MPH. Unfortunately I was driving it at the time. It was sort of induced to roll on a acount of being ran into broadside. But I had my seat belt on, so I was unharmed. I'm a big fan of seat belts. Glad Mrs. Willy is ok. Bet she quits hassling you about wearing set belts now Willy!

[Odie]

Grew up in the era when autos/trucks didn't have them and all that was between you and a solid steel dashboard was Mom's outstretched arm....

Like other's here, they are a constant now and it feels weird not having one buckled around me.

Hope recovery is swift, Willy!