Quote:The government nanny-do and me.
The government should be giving me a choice:
Between, not being seat belted strapped down in my car
and bashing my head and face in, dying right then & there.
IF the choice was that binary it would be one thing, but it's not.
There is a societal benefit to lowering auto insurance rates and ER traffic/costs to all of us; also in reducing bodies ejected onto the road and increasing the risks to other drivers.
Quote:Vehicle accident fatalities are roughly halved when the occupants are wearing seat belts. (www.cdc.gov/motorvehicles...)
Lower fatality and injury numbers reduce the cost of car insurance for everyone, besides the obvious benefit of preserving life and reducing human suffering. If you are wearing a seat belt when the car you are driving is involved in an accident, you are more likely to be able to remain in control of the car when you are restrained to the seat.
Even with air bags and other modern occupant safely measures, you are likely to be thrown out of the seat and even out of the vehicle if you are not wearing a seat belt. I've heard people state with some conviction, "I want to be thrown clear," apparently believing they will suffer some bruises or a broken bone if they are ejected from their car.
It is far more likely you will be impaled, land on your head, or be run over or otherwise crushed by one of the vehicles if your body leaves the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
Critics of laws like the requirement to wear seat belts characterize them as the work of "nanny government," interfering with the right of people to conduct their lives as they choose.
There is an argument for that perspective, but it remains a fact that people who ignore these laws (motorcycle helmet laws are a close relative) still expect society to take care of them when they are injured while ignoring laws intended to protect them.
If the helmetless motorcycle rider suffers a traumatic head injury and has no health insurance (and one could argue that his health insurance shouldn't cover him if he acts recklessly and contributes to his own injury), we don't drag him over to the curb and wait for him to expire.
We transport him to the hospital and expend considerable resources to save his life, even though there is little expectation he will be able to pay for this. This increases the cost of health care for all of us.
Therefore, there is a "greater good" reason for seat belt and helmet laws that penalize drivers from their own neglect, because their negligence has an impact on everyone.
