Click it or ticket?

Howl

Howl

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Click it or Ticket

I'm not exactly sure if this law exists in other countries, but here in the US exists the "click it or ticket" seatbelt safety law. Otherwise meaning "fasten your seatbelt, or you'll be fined and/or asked to appear in court."

I'm also uncertain of how high the fines are in other states for violating this law. According to the California.gov website:
The fine for a seat belt violation in California costs between $80 and $91 depending on the county and up to $350 for not properly restraining a child under 16. And if the parent is not in the car, the driver gets the ticket.
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Which is absolutely ludicrous because my bf has been given fines of well over $100 dollars for violating this "law".


Let me first say, that I think it is absolutely necessary to place safety restraints on children before operating a vehicle.
But...my question to you is this:

Do you think that it's necessary for this law to exist?
Should the state really be allowed to fine a person for independently choosing not to wear safety restraints in a moving car?
 
Is it necessary? If life doesn't matter to you at all, then by all means oppose it. Driving classes especially the importance of seatbelts -- they save lives, fact.

I mean, how long does it take you to snap on a seatbelt? If you're too lazy to click it on and possibly save your life in a bad situation, then it's absolutely your fault. And since the purpose is to save lives, I think the government has every right to penalize anyone who violates it.
 
Rhea said:
Do you think that it's necessary for this law to exist?
Should the state really be allowed to fine a person for independently choosing not to wear safety restraints in a moving car?
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That's a good question. I, for one, think that it should be up to the driver to decide whether or not they want to put a seatbelt on. However, any unlicensed driver riding with the driver should have a seatbelt on because you never know how the driver will react in any given situation. You don't really want to put your life in the hands of anybody that's behind the wheel, but sometimes you have to. Anyone how is licensed to drive should be able to make that decision for themselves.

I don't know what kind of fine people here in Texas would recieve for not having their seatbelt fastened. I know it's over $100 for the first offense, and keeps getting higher for every subsequent offense. Never gotten ticketed for it though. Also, any front seat passenger not wearing a seatbelt gets their own ticket. The driver isn't held responsible for the passenger riding shotgun, but they are responsible for any passengers not in the frontseat.
 
I really do think that wearing a seat belt is very important, but I really don't think that there should be a law to do it. I know it's a law for our saftey, but I think it should be more of a choice than a law.

Children yes I think it should be required because it's not fair to endanger their lives just because you don't want to wear a seat belt.
 
Actually, I think the seat belt law should work hand in hand with young children and whoever is driving in the front seat.

Imagine what it would be like for a kid to lose his parent (which is almost always the person/persons to be driving) just because of the parent's lack of consideration of wearing a seatbelt. How would that feel if that were you growing up an orphan?

Again, I don't think it's a choice. That's like picking between wanting to live and wanting to die.
 
I personally like the click it or ticket law. I don't think that it should be a way for the government to rake in money; maybe violations should simply result in a choice between a fine, community service, or traffic school attendance. That would be even more of a pain in the ass for some people. But there should be an option, since we're required to abide by this law.

The idea about the debate though, is that forcing someone to protect them self (even though it's silly not to) is violating an individual's civil rights.
 
.....Violating a person's civil rights? Legally? No it's not. Like John Locke said, once you remove yourself from a state of nature, you agree to abide by society's laws. Some laws are restrictive. Deal with it. Just like you can't kill someone, you can't put yourself in unnecessary danger. If you don't like it, then don't drive a car. It's really as simple as that. If you tried to use a "civil rights" argument in court, you'd get laughed out of court.

I think it's good that this law exists. It was obviously passed to cut down on the number of deaths from car accidents. If it seems drastic, that's because the policy maker wanted to severely deter people from not wearing a seatbelt. If the only punishment were a warning or a really light fine, no one would pay attention.

Not to mention, it goes beyond wanting people to be safe. This law might also be aimed at cutting down on the number of emergency room victims in the already strained hospital systems, and cutting down on the number of emergency personnel at a crash site. The more severe the injuries, the more people the police need to send.
 
Well for children, if you have child (ren) in the back seat that aren't wearing seat belts, and you crash. Then your child (or children) dies from the impact. Then you'll be charged for murder because it's your responsibly to watch over your children, and make sure they are wearing a seat belt. (I'm not entirely sure about this, possibly considered to be manslaughter.)

As for wearing a seat belt violating civil rights, I don't it is. It's a law that is protecting your life. It's almost the same thing as laws against drug usage. For example: Ecstasy can kill you with just one pill. So that's why it's illegal, and so on. There are laws out there that protect the lives of people.

Seat beat protects you from flying out of your car. I don't think you would want to see your boyfriends brains scattered all over the road. Seat belt protect more lives now.

According to the analysis used, seatbelts were claimed to have decreased fatalities by 1.35% for each 10% increase in seatbelt use.
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The only issue I can think of that wearing your seat belt isn't a good idea when your car is on fire, or when you know you'll get into an accident and you duck. As well as you stiffing up while crashing and your neck snaps. Seat belts can cause internal damage from the strong impact but there is a better chance of living than not wearing one at all.
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I'm not sure if this applies to states other than Pennsylvania, but it's legal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.

If cyclists are allowed to ride motorcycles without helmets, why are drivers forced to wear safety belts? It makes no sense.

I think the law should require the usage of safety belts, but I think it should also require the usage of helmets. If both aren't going to be enforced, then neither should be.

If people are too dumb to use 'em, they're probably better off dead anyway. Just as long as they don't take somebody down with 'em...
 
Creating a law that requires someone to protect their own life is a violation of one's civil rights. I don't give a damn what courtroom would laugh at me for saying so, because it's a fact. As any person with a fully functional brain knows (and most without) not every law is within it's own legal limits. The fact of the matter is, your civil rights do not end until they violate the civil rights of another. And, since orphaning your children does not constitute as a violation of their civil rights, this law is in now way within it's legal boundaries.

Personally I believe that, civil rights or otherwise, every person should be able to decide what amount of safety precautions they choose to use in their everyday life provided it does not impede on any other persons safety and well being. At most, I can see justifying having your Health Insurance not cover you, raise your rate, or plain outright dropping you, for knowingly increasing your risk factor. Outside of that, the whole idea behind fining people for endangering themselves is absolutely ludicrous.

Whether you choose to believe it or not, and whether it's a good idea or not, fining people for choosing to not wear their seat belt is nothing more than money hungry fat cats lining their pockets with ill gotten gains by impeding on the rights of the little people that they represent.
 
I feel the law should only exist when refurring to those under sixteen. That way the parents have a reason to instil the idea of wearing your seatbelt to their children.

However tickets for those who have their license and don't wear their seat belts is someone asanine. If people are too stupid to wear their seatbelts they deserve to die in a car crash.
 
I can't believe what all people disagree with this... It's your freaking lives on the line... Unless you're suicidal, I'd think it would be in your best interest to buckle up when driving/riding in a car.

I nearly died in a car wreck and the only thing that kept me alive was I had my seatbelt on. And the wreck wasn't reckless driving either, it was merely a case of adverse weather conditions.
 
A safety belt also saved my life during a car crash. That doesn't mean that I should HAVE to wear it. I personally want to wear mine, but I don't want to be forced to.
 
Then you WON'T. If you buckle yourself in, for whatever reasons, they have no reason to force you... Nor are they forcing you by fining you if you don't wear one.

It's not like if you pay one seat belt fee, you're automatically required to wear one all the time. They're just showing you that not wearing one has a price, though they take it in a literal sense. If you don't want to pay the price, then, you know what you should do. Otherwise, tough cookies.
 
True, the are not FORCING me to wear it. However, they are impeding on my rights as a human being. They are punishing me for an act that does not immediately affect any other human being, and in no way impedes on their right as a human being.

Besides, if their goal was to show me that not wearing it could make me "pay", then they should show videos and images of what happens to some people when they don't, and allow me to watch them (or not) at my leisure. It is not the governments job to keep me safe from myself, just from others. Ultimately, they are just looking for another way to line their pockets and it makes me sick.

If they really wanted to make me wear my seat belt for my own protection they would have mandated car manufacturers to create a vehicle that would not start until I was wearing it. Then I would be knowingly endangering myself by overriding this safety precaution (should I so choose) and would not need to be fined because I was perfectly aware of the possible repercussions of my own actions.
 
OmniscientOnus said:
Ultimately, they are just looking for another way to line their pockets and it makes me sick.
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Nah... They're looking for another source of money to give freeloaders who live off welfare OTHER than working taxpayers' money. It has nothing to do about lining their pockets. Politicians get rich because they were either already rich, or they were lucky enough to end up rich with their careers. Car ticket money has nothing to do with how lined with money their pockets are.
 
It is not the governments job to keep me safe from myself, just from others.
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Come now its the government we are talking about. You know damn well they make it their priority to protect the functionally retarded. Take school zones around High Schools. If you can not cross the street in high school without being hit by a car, you don't deserve to be there.

Whats the point of guard rails? If you can't control you car and pull off to the side in dangerous conditions, you don't deserve to be driving.

You see my point here? The government works to protect the idiots of our sociaty, mostly so that they do not have to hear them scream complaints and sue them.

Cause you know if the click it and ticket law wasnt in affect I could totally get injured and then sue the state for not making me wear my seatbelt. Given that its America I would probably win too.

I don't feel we should have to. Its stupid. But I see where the law comes from, just like I see where all the silly/stupid laws come from.
 
The law exists here in Florida. I dont know what the fines are but I dont really see any cops enforcing the law much. Just the newbie cops and the ones who need to meet thier quota.

I dont really follow the law that much unless I'm going a long distance. But if I'm going to leave my seat belt off then thats noones problem but mine. If I'm driving my little brother or sister around I make sure they are buckled in though.

I dont think this law really needs to exist because if we chose to risk our lives then so be it. If this is the land of the free then why are there so many laws about so many little things? I just dont understand it that well.
 
I shout at people for not wearing seatbelts, especially if im in the passenger seat and someones sat behind me. I don't like the idea of being crushed to death by the person behind me if the are not wearing a seatbelt if there's a nasty accident

It does'nt help that I work in insurance investigations, so the majority of our claims are in relation to car accidents.

At the end of the day that law is there for you're safety, I do think the fines abit harsh tho, but then I always wear my seatbelt so I doubt I'l be getting fined anytime soon

Altho I was getting a lift of my brothers mate afew weeks ago and I couldn't get my seatbelt in the thingy - he's only had his licence a month and I just held on for dear life..

I think Im overly paranoid tbh
 
So, when I went home for lunch yesterday, I got stopped because I wasn't wearing a seat belt. This was the only violation. I've also had this happen about a year ago as well, so it annoys me a bit. And to boot I got hit for a seat belt violation when I got a speeding ticket like 5 years ago.

Thats right, I don't wear a seat belt, I feel like it's a very unsafe practice. Considering they still don't put seat belts in school buses full of kids, I find it especially wrong that I have to keep myself 'safe' when 50 kids can freely be 'unsafe'. I've also had a distant relative get killed in a car accident because the seat belt cut his Jugular Vein. Being a realistic person, I don't see how being trapped in my seat saves my life. What is it saving me from, being ejected? Granted being ejected from the car may not result well, there's no guarantee it will kill me, unlike being broad-sided when wearing a seat belt.

So I'm not a believer in the seat belt deal, even if I have paid for it 3 times. I will continue to disregard the 'law' in this sense. With the amount of aggressive drivers I see on the roads these days, I think it would be a better idea to keep an eye on them, not me. Those people will hurt someone a lot more than I could.

Anyways, thats my rant to you. What are your thoughts on "click it or ticket"?
 
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