Seatbelts- Do you wear them?

[Phil]

I heard on the radio today that over 50% of Irish motorist do not wear seatbelts. I have to say that I was surprised at the results. I did'nt think that it would be so high. I never get into a car without putting on a seatbelt, it's just second nature at this stage.

Ok guys be honest. Do you wear a seatbelt? If you do or you don't, I would be interested to hear what your thoughts are on the subject.

[BeCos]

I always wear them, wouldn't use a car that didn't have them and won't let anyone travel,front or back, unless they are prepared to wear them. Besides my reputation precedes me and most people put their belts on as they're walking towards my car!!!

[Joe]

Yip, I always wear it in the front, in fact I'd feel very uncomfortable without it on.

As for the back, I rarely sit there, but when I do, I have to admit I'd never wear it there! stupidly I suppose, I feel a bit daft wearing one in the back :)

[Chancer]

Yep, me too. I always make sure I wear my belt, all the time. I think I'd feel naked without one. Even if I'm only going down the road to the shop, I'll still belt up. Somehow I don't feel that its font seat drivers/passengers who need educating. I'd imagine most people who site in the back of a car don't realise how vulnerable they actually are. I’ve seen a couple of simulated crashes over the last year or so and its quite shocking how a back seat passenger will be catapulted from the back seat right through the front windscreen. It’s even scarier when you consider that most of the time back seat passengers are usually kids. Why don’t people cop on and belt their kids in? If they’re used to being belted in at an early age then it should come as second nature to them later on, and possibly help save their lives.

[Skid Marks]

What a load of tossers! No one ever always has their seat belt on.

Why should I have to be strapped in to my car if it makes me feel uncomfortable? Just because the law says so? Because the law and statistics say it will save my life? **** that for a game of soldiers. I don’t tell anyone not to smoke cause it’ll kill you, so why tell me I have to wear a seat belt? If I’m in an accident, it's me that will get hurt, not you. IT’S MY CHOICE!

[Astraman]

I have to admit SkidMarks is making a valid point.If a person doesn't want to wear a seatbelt they shouldn't have to.That should be a basic human right.That said people should belt up their kids and set them a good example by doing it themselves.
It is a proven fact that people are alot safer while they are buckled up.
Skid I'll admit that I never used to wear my belt but the pigs caught me and I had to shell out £50 so that changed my mind and now I don't feel comfortable in a car without my seatbelt on.

[Suzysue]

I had an '89 VW Jetta with no rear seat belts. I used to drop the kids around to my mother in the morning, and thought they'd be safe enough as she lives less than a mile away from me. Until, one morning 'yon lunatic of the reversed baseball cap psychology, in spotlight adorned automobile sporting 10ft ariel' came careering around a corner in front of me on the wrong side of the road. It made me think that while I myself am a careful driver, its the eejits like this I have to be wary of. I ordered two rear seatbelts for the Jetta that day.

[zygote]

SkidPant/marks , dirty underwear whatever. fair enough if u wanna be a moron and go through your windscreen , how would you feel if u impaled yourself through the other cars windows aswell killing the driver who was wearing a seat belt and may have survived? if you and your feckin stinkin pants cam through my window id have no hestiation in stiching you a loaf. grow up.

[Justin]

Skidmarks, I think it would be unfair to ask our emergency services workers to clean up the skidmarks you would make on the road after you fly out your windscreen. Otherwise, feel free to indulge in whatever (private) self destructive mayhem you like, as long as no-one has to scrape up the mess afterwards.

[Anders]

It's difficult to see a reason why it is that one has to wear a seatbelt or wear a helmet when riding a motorbike. As I argued in an identical thread on Motorweb some half a year ago I think it has to do with improving road fatalities statistics.

Smoking is a totally different story as it affects people who aren't smoking too.

[Phil]

Interesting results. It seems according to this forum that most drivers do wear their seatbelts. I find it hard to belive that over 50% of people don't wear their seatbelts in Ireland.

I suppose the next question to ask on top of this one is:

How many of you have more than say 2 pints and get into a car and drive? I be interested to see how this one pans out.

Cheers phil.

[Chancer]

I've been wondering about these statistics, and decided to keep an eye out recently when stuck in heavy traffic. It would appear that the figures aren't too far off, which I couldn’t believe. A lot of the drivers I've seen without seatbelts were middle-aged, and the offenders were a good mixture of both male and female. I also noticed that a good lot of these drivers were driving bigger than average cars - saloons like Mercs, BMW's, Volvo's etc. This certainly is a false sense of security, one which sadly may cost them their lives. When will people like this ever learn?