Proof of Car Insurance.

[IDrinkaRum]

Last year, when Child Rum & I were in involved in a car accident (we were rear ended), I had an expired insurance card in my glove box. I was in a high-state of panic mode, and I kept apologizing to the nice police man about not having the current one. He asked if I was still insured, I said yes, and that was that. I didn't get a ticket or anything.

[drunkenwildmage]

Around here, if you don't have proof of insurance on you.. they will still issue you a ticket, but if you bring the proof in on your court date.. they will wave it..

About 15 years ago Illinois, my, now, wife got pulled over for speeding. Give the Cop her insurance card, and proof of insurance..etc.. Cop wrote up the ticket for speeding, said everything else looked good, and handed it back to her. She handed the insurance card to a friend of hers, to put back into the glove box. As she started driving off, her friend started to laughing when she noticed that the insurance card was for a previous car that my wife hadn't owned in over a year.

[Andara Bledin]

This to me isn't as big a pet peeve as seat belts. Yes, they might save your life, but if a person doesn't want to wear them..they shouldn't have to..

I used to think the same, but if you lose control of your car, and control of your body in your car, you could end up making a small problem much, much greater.

YouTube has a host of graphic and disturbing examples of why seatbelts are important to wear. One of them being that in an accident, anything unsecured in the passenger compartment (including you) becomes a loose projectile.

^-.-^

[blas87]

People who think like that are the reason technology has evolved into vehicles that won't start or shift unless you have your seatbelt on.

My car dings like crazy if I don't wear mine, and every so many minutes/miles if my passenger(s) aren't. Just fucking do it. It's not that hard or that bad.

[telecom_goddess]

People who think like that are the reason technology has evolved into vehicles that won't start or shift unless you have your seatbelt on.

My car dings like crazy if I don't wear mine, and every so many minutes/miles if my passenger(s) aren't. Just fucking do it. It's not that hard or that bad.

Same thing with helmets on motorcycles. People whine that they don't want to wear them....well too bad. Because lots and lots of people didn't wear them and became road pizza they have had to make it required. People don't have enough sense on their own and need to be told to be safer.

[Andara Bledin]

Same thing with helmets on motorcycles. People whine that they don't want to wear them....well too bad. Because lots and lots of people didn't wear them and became road pizza they have had to make it required. People don't have enough sense on their own and need to be told to be safer.

Helmets aren't the same, though. Close, but not quite.

In the case of a seatbelt, you get significant advantages in both control and safety, both personal and external. With a helmet, you get safety, but you also lose some safety as well as awareness, and the only one you really affect (directly) is yourself.

^-.-^

[Greenday]

and the only one you really affect (directly) is yourself.

And your family and friends. And the paramedics. And the cops. And whoever else has to scrape your corpse off the road.

[Andara Bledin]

Thus the qualifier. It's there for a reason.

^-.-^

[Salesmonkey]

This to me isn't as big a pet peeve as seat belts.

I think somebody said it, and they have it right. It is a revenue making ploy.

You might think of it more as a revenue saving ploy. There is an overlap in the population that doesn't like to wear seatbelts and cycle helmets and the population that (in the US) doesn't have health insurance. Therefore the hospital bills go unpaid, therefore the health costs of the insured citizens go up to cover this.

And I can't say this enough, but the only survivor of Princess Diana's crash was also the only person wearing a seat belt! He was all messed up, but he lived. The paramedics thought the princess was mostly OK, until she keeled over from internal bleeding. A seatbelt would have prevented her from bouncing around inside the car and saved her life.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I look at it this way. The only legislation that should be in place, is that which protects OTHER people.

Helmet laws - If a person chooses to wear or not wear a helmet, how does that effect me? If this person on a motorcycle loses control of me and smashes into my car, does his wearing a helmet make the accident any less horrible for me than if the person wasn't wearing one? In a rather bizarre set of circumstances perhaps, but in general there is no difference. The only difference is whether or not the cyclist increases or decreases his chances for survival.

Seat Belt Laws - Gray area for me. On one hand this is a case where it should be like helmet laws. The driver wearing a seatbelt or not is not going to change MY outcome should he ram my car. However since children are more fragile and are not able to grasp such concepts all that well then they should be restrained in whatever is proper for age, and height.

In the case of seat belt and helmet laws, what is needed is education from the start. It would be better if we have our next generation growing up with the ideas that their safety is increased wearing belts and helmets.

Insurance - NOW we're talking about impacting ME. If a driver hits my car and it is his fault, I should not have to pay for the repairs to my car nor should I have to pay for the medical costs to repair me or my family. And since such bills are often far above what the average person can come up with at any given moment, insurance is what not only protects them from ending up stone, stinking broke after replacing my $10,000 car and my $150,000 medical bills (approximate costs of my wife's accident and replacement knee), but likewise protects me from going broke trying to get myself back on my feet and four wheels on the tarmac again.

So in this case, I am all for insurance and insurance laws. Because the person causing the accident will have a greater impact on the victim if they do not have it as opposed to them having it.

[Racket_Man]

I
In the case of seat belt and helmet laws, what is needed is education from the start. It would be better if we have our next generation growing up with the ideas that their safety is increased wearing belts and helmets.

Insurance - NOW we're talking about impacting ME. If a driver hits my car and it is his fault, I should not have to pay for the repairs to my car nor should I have to pay for the medical costs to repair me or my family. And since such bills are often far above what the average person can come up with at any given moment, insurance is what not only protects them from ending up stone, stinking broke after replacing my $10,000 car and my $150,000 medical bills (approximate costs of my wife's accident and replacement knee), but likewise protects me from going broke trying to get myself back on my feet and four wheels on the tarmac again.

So in this case, I am all for insurance and insurance laws. Because the person causing the accident will have a greater impact on the victim if they do not have it as opposed to them having it.

the problem with the education angle is that the campain has been going on for the last 45 - 50 years. when car manufacturers started putting seatbelts in cars in the late 50's early 60's it was because the US goverment was on a roadway safety kick. I remember a fairly graphic PSA from the early 70s (thank you YouTube)

They wrinkle my dress (early 1970's)

Just married (early 1980's)

the PSAs in the 60's and 70's tended to be very graphic to immediately grab your attention. later ones used a more passive approach. Kinda like the "Don't drink and drive on Prom night" "plays" they put on at the local high school near Prom. a mix of graphic and passive.

the US, at the Federal level, passed a law in 1968 requiring all passanger vehicles to be outfitted with lap seatbelts in passenger vehicles in the FRONT seat. it was modified over the next 10 - 15 years to include 3-point belts in front then 3 -point belts in ALL seats. however the first manditory belt laws were not put into place until almost 20 years later in 1984

as for insurance I totally agree with Mongo. as my JOB involves a LOT of driving I have to protect myself from myself AND the others on the road. the financial aspect ALONE is my motivation. there have been more instances than I care to count where some nutjob has turned/pulled out in front of me at high speed (45+ mph) that could have resulted in me t-boning them.

also, if you do have insurance, NEVER drop your Uninsured Motorist coverage.

[Andara Bledin]

On one hand this is a case where it should be like helmet laws. The driver wearing a seatbelt or not is not going to change MY outcome should he ram my car.

Actually, whether or not a driver wears a seatbelt can have a material effect on the outcome of an incident. Someone not wearing at least a lap belt is at greater risk of losing control in the event of something that would cause the vehicle to shift position, whether that be someone hitting that car, that car hitting someone, or running over especially uneven ground or suffering a blowout.

It's not really notable if you are in the habit of not wearing a belt, but since I pretty much always have, I can feel a major difference in how easily I can retain control of my position in the driver's seat. Without a belt, I spend a measurable amount of time and effort to keep myself in place, which detracts from both my awareness and my ability to react.

In the case of seat belt and helmet laws, what is needed is education from the start. It would be better if we have our next generation growing up with the ideas that their safety is increased wearing belts and helmets.

Now this I can wholeheartedly agree with. In the US, we are so quick to put a ban on objectionable behaviors when education as to why those behaviors are not acceptable would go much farther to actually stop those behaviors.

Unfortunately, it seems that the only education most kids get about this sort of thing is a few scare-tactic after school specials and related PSAs without any real information or objective data to support any of it.

the problem with the education angle is that the campain has been going on for the last 45 - 50 years.

The US' idea of education is a joke. As a fairly bright kid, I found them irritating and patronizing. Other kids just laughed at them.

PSAs are really only good for educating people who already want or are interested in the information they provide. Plus, with a generation of anti-drug PSAs and anti-smoking PSAs distorting truth and reality to sell their agendas, even the good ones fail to have much impact on those who most need to see them. Kids aren't stupid, merely uninformed, and we need to stop lying to them.

^-.-^

[protege]

It's not really notable if you are in the habit of not wearing a belt, but since I pretty much always have, I can feel a major difference in how easily I can retain control of my position in the driver's seat. Without a belt, I spend a measurable amount of time and effort to keep myself in place, which detracts from both my awareness and my ability to react.

Seconded. When I drive, I have my seat belt on...most of the time. The only time I don't, is when I take the MG out. Why? Simple, there *aren't* any seat belts currently fitted! I'd removed the original belts when I was restoring the car's interior, and haven't fitted a new set yet. As much fun as that car is to drive, it's *not* so much fun bouncing around on the seat, and sliding every which way in corners. That'll have to do until I can find a pair of belts that don't require me welding in additional brackets or drilling more holes in my car's interior.

Oh, and before anyone asks, I do know what it's like to get hit...and not have your belt on. I wasn't even driving--the car was stationary at the time! My engine blew up and I'd taken my seat belt off so I could get out, and push the car off the road. As I was reaching for the door...I got hit. Hard enough to slam my face against the steering wheel, and messing up my jaw permanently. I got off lucky--I could have easily hit the windshield, or even been tossed outside the car

[Mytical]

Don't get me wrong. It is a great idea to wear a seat belt. Even should there be no such law I would do so. You make some very good points, which honestly I didn't consider. To me it was more of the 'save me from me' thing, which I really dislike. That is a whole different fratch though