Despite a law requiring seat-belt use, fewer drivers in Massachusetts buckle up that any other state -- fewer than even New Hampshire, which is the only state without a mandatory seat-belt law. It's shocking to me.
Seven of the drivers killed in the wee hours of the Fourth of July were not belted in. Some say it makes them uncomfortable, some say it messes their clothes. I have a cousin who refuses to do it despite being an otherwise intelligent, reasonable man.
Honestly, I belt up every time, no matter how short my trip. I was sporadic until I saw a program on TV where a woman who was in an accident going just 35 mph had to have a hole drilled in her brain to relieve the pressure. That stuck with me, and I never forget to use my seat belt.
2 comments:
It's especially shocking given how terrible Mass drivers are. I tried driving for about a minute in Boston without a seat belt to see how it felt; I felt the danger akin to base jumping without a parachute.
I buckled up back in 1968 when we got our first car that had seat belts. OTOH, as a young man (early 20s), I was excited by the fact that the Jerry Williams drive to eliminate the seat belt law won, even though I continued to buckle up faithfully. At the time, I was impressed that we told the government to stuff it. Now, as an aging boomer, I long ago came to the understanding, that buckling up saves lives, of the driver, the passenger, and other drivers and passengers when people are secure enough in their vehicles to maintain some control in an accident, and we can't leave it to their good sense to buckle up.
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