Cops and seat belt violations

[caulfieldsducks]

They have all of these advertisements on the radio and television about how your local city and state officers are cracking down on seat belt violations. The entire 'Click it, or ticket' premise. Now, I don't drive wearing a seat belt. I just don't care to. I also drive fast, and get pulled over occassionally for doing so. Yet, in all the

Comments

[turelie]

I find it incredibly interesting that RI and MA seem to have nothing better to chide people for than not wearing a seatbelt. You hear none of that shite down here.

No offense to you personally....but generally my view on stuff like this is....if you don't want to do it, don't. But you get what you deserve if something horrible happens. I actually prefer most people in MA and RI not wear their seatbelts. It will cut down on the moron population nicely. :P Especially considering their current driving habits.

[caulfieldsducks]

My driving habits are why I don't wear the seatbelt. I feel that I would leave a much better grease stain if I don't.

[vmisery]

More tickets means more revenue for the cops.

But I don't think it's up to the cops to enforce seat belt laws except in the case of minors. If I want to risk taking a magical trip through the windshield in a crash, that only affects me. The minute you turn 18, it's up to you to decide if you want to risk severe injury in a crash for not wearing one, just like it's up to you to decide if you want to skateboard without a helmet, or go skydiving, or cross the street without looking, or walk down the stairs backward and blindfolded. It's not the police's job to protect us from ourselves, it's their job to protect us from the fucking loonies.

Then again, I always wear my seat belt anyway, so. *shrug* Having been in a couple of accidents where I was saved from serious injury because of the belt, it's become a habit. But it's my choice to do so.

[ratkrycek]

I like your musical selection. ;)

And buckling my seat belt has really become second nature to me; I scarcely give it a thought these days. But there are definitely worse crimes for law enforcement to focus on.

I've always kinda figured, well, an unfastened seatbelt maybe would give them a reason (pretext) to pull a car over if they thought it was suspicious for some other "cop's sixth sense" reason, but needed a real-world cause to initiate the stop. I don't know that I've ever heard of somebody pulled over and fined solely because they didn't have their seatbelt fastened.

I could be wrong, though.