Click It Or Ticket

Starting one week before and running one week after the Memorial Day holiday - from May 23 to June 5, 2005 - thousands of law enforcement agencies in communities across the country will be actively enforcing State safety belt laws during the Click It or Ticket Mobilization.

These efforts - coupled with paid advertising and the support of government agencies, traffic safety organizations, local advocates and others - will yet again result in dramatic increases in safety belt use, and will protect us against one of the greatest threats to us all - traffic crashes.

I have always worn a seatbelt. I was raised that way. Will not be a concern for me.

One question... how can people be given a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt while there are thousands of motorcycles on the street that show this citation for not wearing a seatbelt to be a contradiction? The state of Ohio does not even require a helmet be worn on a motorcycle, but requires a seatbelt to be worn in a car. Uh... okay.

No offense to motorcycle riders. I just have a problem with a law that holds no water IMO when you look at motorcycle laws that are an absolute contradiction to the car laws. With that being said, I hope everyone does buckle up. It seems absurd not to IMO. And if you don't like to buckle up and get ticketed... just sell the car and buy a bike.

Any other contradictory laws that come to mind?

Did anyone happen to see the interview with the 20 year old ditz on Fox news at 10:00 last night?

She was nearly in a wreck or was in a wreck and wore her belt for about a month or so after that...but then quit. She has already been cited for not wearing her belt. She was laughing the entire time during the interview saying that even the fines would not make her wear her belt. That if she were to die in an accident while not wearing her belt then it would have just been her time to go.

I do have issues with it being a law and not a choice (for adults, not children). Smoking kills people but it is not against the law. If someone does not want to wear the belt and they are over 18, well...they suffer the consequences.

Good points about the motorcycle laws RFA. Some states do require helmets.

I have been on a motorcycle probably twice in my life. For those that do ride and have wrecked on one, is it better to go with the bike or fall off when the wreck starts? Or does it depend on the situation?

I always wear my seatbelt when in the front of a vehicle, but not always in the back. I do believe that it is better to wear a seatbelt than not, but I do know of people in my own family who are only alive today because they were not wearing a seatbelt and were thrown from the wreckage of an accident before it burst into flames.

In one of life's true ironies, I'm here today because my dad was in a bad car wreck & wasn't wearing his seatbelt.

He was riding shotgun in a convertible that rolled, then burst into flames. Because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, they were able to lift up the car & drag his body out before he died.

(The rest of the story is that Dad had 3rd degree burns over 30% of his body. They weren't sure that he'd live. After weeks in ICU, they weren't sure he'd ever walk. Fortunately, Dad was a pretty good swimmer. Good enough that he swam for Doc Counsilman at Indiana. Before the wreck, Dad spent the summer training - he was going from a sprinter to a distance guy, so his heart & body were in outstanding shape. He eventually healed, got back into the pool, and after a year out of school, he earned a spot back on the team by beating the same qualifying time that was the standard for everyone else.)

Having said all that, I always wear a seat belt when I get into a car.

Dad does, too.

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Starting one week before and running one week after the Memorial Day holiday - from May 23 to June 5, 2005 - thousands of law enforcement agencies in communities across the country will be actively enforcing State safety belt laws during the Click It or Ticket Mobilization.

These efforts - coupled with paid advertising and the support of government agencies, traffic safety organizations, local advocates and others - will yet again result in dramatic increases in safety belt use, and will protect us against one of the greatest threats to us all - traffic crashes.

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I have no problem with enforcing the law but these stops are typically used as money generating tools as well. While the people are stopped the cops will make sure they have a valid liscense their tags are valid and other things, and if they are not current then the fines come out. It winds up being profitable for the cops I'm sure.

The cops do not profit, the city/county does.

When I worked for a PD the thing they hated to do was write tickets/citations. They had to work with the residents and coexist with them and unless it was truly something bad they hated giving out tickets.

Now, they were all for running radar on 471!!

I used to have a problem with the prosecution of so-called "Victimless Crimes," such as not wearing a seat-belt. However, taking a lot of law classes has made me realize that the true victims in these cases are the taxpayers who pay medical bills for people who get ejected from a car because they can't be bothered to buckle up, or companies and businesses that are forced to install special equipment or re-arrange work schedules to accommodate people who become crippled for life after not wearing a seat-belt in a car accident.

I think this is a good idea, and I hope they catch every idiot out there who can't be bothered to wear his seatbelt.

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I do have issues with it being a law and not a choice (for adults, not children). Smoking kills people but it is not against the law. If someone does not want to wear the belt and they are over 18, well...they suffer the consequences.

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The rest of us suffer the consequences, too, in the form of higher insurance rates.

There are a number of other laws that promote public safety and protect people from themselves.

I agree with RFA'66's conclusion that the law is hipocritical, though. And it's not just motorcycle riders who don't have to wear seatbelts. There are no seatbelts on buses either. There was a big wreck in KC a couple of weeks ago involving a school bus. None of the kids were killed, but many were injured and sent to the hospital. Unfortunately, there has been surprisingly little public outcry for installing seat belts on schoolbuses.

700 was also talking about the school bus issue today. A driver called in and said that the seats were set up higher and were safer.

I don't buy it. I've seen those videos of kids getting tossed all over the place when a school bus wrecks or loses control. They bounce up in the air and then land on the floor or partially on one seat. It really is amazing there have not been more serious injuries to kids...or God forbid, more deaths. :(

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Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

I used to have a problem with the prosecution of so-called "Victimless Crimes," such as not wearing a seat-belt. However, taking a lot of law classes has made me realize that the true victims in these cases are the taxpayers who pay medical bills for people who get ejected from a car because they can't be bothered to buckle up, or companies and businesses that are forced to install special equipment or re-arrange work schedules to accommodate people who become crippled for life after not wearing a seat-belt in a car accident.

I think this is a good idea, and I hope they catch every idiot out there who can't be bothered to wear his seatbelt.

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Looking at it that way, I agree. But, I also think they should write tickets for people talking on their cell phone while driving. In just the last week, I would have to use both hands and feet to count how many people I've encountered driving recklessly while talking on a cell phone on the interstate.

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Originally Posted by savafan

Looking at it that way, I agree. But, I also think they should write tickets for people talking on their cell phone while driving. In just the last week, I would have to use both hands and feet to count how many people I've encountered driving recklessly while talking on a cell phone on the interstate.

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It's just a matter of time before talking on a cell phone will become illegal in all venues, Sava. It's already trending that way and it will pick up speed. It took awhile to get seat belt use to be mandatory in all 50 states----the same will, eventually, happen with cell phones, IMO.

Rem

Motorcycle riders have a big lobby. Not quite as big as the NRA, but they do have influence.

They believe it's their right not to wear a helmet.

Me, I think they should. When one of them can't pay their medical bills, the taxpayer shouldn't be paying for someone's stupidity.

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Originally Posted by TeamDunn

Did anyone happen to see the interview with the 20 year old ditz on Fox news at 10:00 last night?

She was nearly in a wreck or was in a wreck and wore her belt for about a month or so after that...but then quit. She has already been cited for not wearing her belt. She was laughing the entire time during the interview saying that even the fines would not make her wear her belt. That if she were to die in an accident while not wearing her belt then it would have just been her time to go.

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For her sake, as well as her family's, I hope she is never in an accident that places her in excrutiating pain and/or paralyzes her, yet does not kill her. people seem to think that if they're in a horrible accident, they'll just die a quick painless death and that will be it.

Not wearing a seatbelt is sheer stupidity. Whether it should be a law on Ohio's books or not, is another matter.