Driving
I remember as a child, my parents had a rule that the car wouldn't be started if everyone seated did not have a seatbelt on. I remember that I was one of the few of my friends that had to wear one, and I was embarrassed when one of my friends was forced to buckle up before Mom would start the engine. My mother's sister was killed in a car accident when her face hit the (metal) dashboard of the jeep she was riding in. She was in her early 20s.
Since I've been doing it forever, it's an unconscious thing for me to do nowadays. There was a bit of time in high school where I was just driving my Monte Carlo and was too cool to wear them. Riding home from WHS one day I was rear-ended by a tow truck, and my friends and I in the car sustained injuries (Bobo, Anjell, Pete and I). We were extremely lucky that the result was merely some time in chiropractic care and an ultimate settlement that paid a tiny bit toward college bills (or in Pete's case, a bass and a new car iirc). Thankfully I cared less about being cool after that and picked up wearing the seatbelt again.
A couple of years ago I was almost done paying off my sweet Hedwig, my 2001 Impala in a nice blue that was a great combination of dark and bright. She had a shiny new coat of paint since I had body work done after being sideswiped in front of my house one night. About 2 months later I was hit head on over near the Lyman Estate - a woman coming off the rotary was driving too fast on the slightly icy, slightly hilly road (I was coming up from KFC, right near where Paul C used to live at Gardencrest) and she slammed head first into me. My car was crunched and despite my seatbelt I smashed into the airbag. Thank you seatbelt, and thank you airbag, for all I had were some burns and bruises on my face, some bruised ribs and a totaled car. About 3 months before she was paid for - doh! Not planned, but the incident got me into my Eddie that protects me on the road now. It was the second time that heavy metal saved my life, but I digress.
The city of Waltham is in talks to put lap-shoulder belts into it's school buses. It is going to cost something like a buck a tax payer per student. The city would also be the first in the state to take such a move (I believe). What a small expense to take care of its children! It is a law to wear belts in the state, and accidents happen. For me, a homeowner in the city who does not have a child in the system, it seems worthwhile to make this initial investment. Walthamites need look only next-door to the city of Newton, where an accident on a trip (band trip? I'm forgetting) resulted in serious injury not many years ago. Less than 1 dollar! How much do folks spend a week at Dunkies? We should be able to shoulder this burden.
If you live in Waltham and care about this issue please share your opinion with the mayor and school committee members. You can find more information here www.waltham4seatbelts.org .
Since I've been doing it forever, it's an unconscious thing for me to do nowadays. There was a bit of time in high school where I was just driving my Monte Carlo and was too cool to wear them. Riding home from WHS one day I was rear-ended by a tow truck, and my friends and I in the car sustained injuries (Bobo, Anjell, Pete and I). We were extremely lucky that the result was merely some time in chiropractic care and an ultimate settlement that paid a tiny bit toward college bills (or in Pete's case, a bass and a new car iirc). Thankfully I cared less about being cool after that and picked up wearing the seatbelt again.
A couple of years ago I was almost done paying off my sweet Hedwig, my 2001 Impala in a nice blue that was a great combination of dark and bright. She had a shiny new coat of paint since I had body work done after being sideswiped in front of my house one night. About 2 months later I was hit head on over near the Lyman Estate - a woman coming off the rotary was driving too fast on the slightly icy, slightly hilly road (I was coming up from KFC, right near where Paul C used to live at Gardencrest) and she slammed head first into me. My car was crunched and despite my seatbelt I smashed into the airbag. Thank you seatbelt, and thank you airbag, for all I had were some burns and bruises on my face, some bruised ribs and a totaled car. About 3 months before she was paid for - doh! Not planned, but the incident got me into my Eddie that protects me on the road now. It was the second time that heavy metal saved my life, but I digress.
The city of Waltham is in talks to put lap-shoulder belts into it's school buses. It is going to cost something like a buck a tax payer per student. The city would also be the first in the state to take such a move (I believe). What a small expense to take care of its children! It is a law to wear belts in the state, and accidents happen. For me, a homeowner in the city who does not have a child in the system, it seems worthwhile to make this initial investment. Walthamites need look only next-door to the city of Newton, where an accident on a trip (band trip? I'm forgetting) resulted in serious injury not many years ago. Less than 1 dollar! How much do folks spend a week at Dunkies? We should be able to shoulder this burden.
If you live in Waltham and care about this issue please share your opinion with the mayor and school committee members. You can find more information here www.waltham4seatbelts.org .