Buckle Up!!!! Buckle Up!!!! Buckle Up!!!!

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gadgetman

VR.org Supporter
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2005
Messages
1,821
Location
Richland, GA (USA)
I just got in from a roll over accident only 2 miles North of my house. Driver went to sleep or otherwise lost control, ran off into the median, overcorrected, and flipped at least 2 times. The two occupants that stayed in the car (seatbelts can be a lifesaver) in the front seat were scratched and banged up and will probably be very sore tomorrow. The other occupant was ejected (thrown out by force) from the vehicle. He was fortunate that he appeared to land in the grassy median which probably cushioned his next meeting with Mother Earth. However, one leg was broken (without doubt), he had severe lacerations to his other leg, and probably suffered some internal injuries. We secured his neck until the EMTs arrived and he could still move his arms and legs so that is a good sign. However, he has a long road to recovery.

So, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, put those seatbelts on. I would hate for one of our family to come through so much to lose it so quickly. Soapbox closed (until next time--and there will be a next time)

Anyway, it makes mine and Harpoon's jobs easier if we don't have to go any further than the car to help someone :) .

Wear those seatbelts and,

May God Bless,

Danny
 
Especially important that Coumadin/Warfarin patients buckle up. Face-meets-windshield can be rather messy.
 
So sad

So sad

Last week, an elderly lady ( my age) :eek: crossed the yellow line (on our 2 lane road)..hitting an on coming car. Young mother died with her seat belt on. died instantly. Her 2 babies, buckled up in back seat. the 3 year old was airlifted to Atlanta in serious condition. Baby was O.k...The driver who crossed over was also killed. :eek: ..When you have a head on that bad. seatbelts don't help... :eek: ...I just would like to know, what took that woman's mind off of looking where she was driving. Good weather. I read that she had retired up here. Probably used to not driving on 2 lane roads, winding...I never HAVE THE RADIO ON..i never TALK ON MY MOBILE PHONE. I look ahead to see where the cars coming towards me are..We have many elderly retirees living here. Just talked to a lady a few days ago that told me she drives her hubby down to Gainesville 3 times a week. for dialiagis (sp)? and she was in her 70's...All of our roads are 2 lanes for 30 miles. :eek: ..Danny, we have signs posted all over. Click it or ticket it... :eek: My son, the policeman will not start the car unless we are all buckled up.And, the small village we live in..give more tickets when they see someone NOT buckled in... :eek: Read that in our weekly paper.Under police blotter. :D Bonnie
 
Bonnie,

True there are some accidents that only God can save you, seatbelts or not. I've heard just about every excuse for not using them:

makes my shoulder hurt, too confining,

what if I have a wreck and the vehicle catches on fire, goes into the water, etc?

I got airbags I don't need to wear seatbelts (one guy actually told me this even with all the warnings in his owners book that you MUST wear seatbelts.

How am I going to get out if the vehicle is upside down?

Your son can probably give you some more that he's heard.

The accident today was one of those "whys". Clear weather, nice day, light traffic. The curve where she lost it is tricky if you hit it too fast and that may have been part of it. Sometimes we never find out. Unfortunately I've been guilty of tuning the radio, talking on the cell phone, CB radio, and other distractions but have been fortunate so far.

Barry,

None of the three had any medical braclets and didn't appear to be bleeding too bad. If one of them had, it would have been a little more critical. From the "page out" to me reaching the wreck was less than 3 minutes (was so close). There were several bystanders that were giving comfort and making sure none of them were moving about. Others were collecting all the belongings (scattered over a 100 feet in both directions). One GI (still in his fatigues) was a big help. They are already trained in first aid and can function very good under pressure. In the heat of the moment you don't think to get their names, but I made sure I thanked the GI before he left. Our first EMT wagon arrived less than 5 or 6 minutes later. Everyone was stabilized very quickly. Have not heard a report on how everyone was doing.

So keep clicking, keep ticking, and,

May God Bless,

Danny
 
gadgetman said:
I just got in from a roll over accident only 2 miles North of my house...

...So, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, put those seatbelts on. I would hate for one of our family to come through so much to lose it so quickly. Soapbox closed (until next time--and there will be a next time)

Anyway, it makes mine and Harpoon's jobs easier if we don't have to go any further than the car to help someone :) .

Wear those seatbelts and,

May God Bless,

Danny


See my post in the Pet Peeve thread...

I gather there was an MVA with an ejection somewhere in the city this afternoon (before I went on shift with the paper) but I don't know any other details.

I went to another accident tonight in the city that was relatively minor. The driver was estimated to be going about 35mph (speed limit in the area was 30) according to a fire chief I spoke to before hitting a PARKED car. No seatbelts, but the car had airbags which worked well enough. The driver was taken by ambulance to hospital for evaluation.

It was a NICE clear day today too, most of the streets were drying up ('cept for where there were lots of snow or storm drains) and it was pushing 65? certainly nothing in the way of "hazardous road conditions" outside of a number of idiot drivers...
 
gadgetman (and others)...

While I think it's a good idea to wear a seatbelt, I take deep offense at seat-belt laws. Ought to be your own decision whether or not to wear one, the government's got more important things to do than micromanage citizens and insist that they wear seatbelts. The more safe the government makes us, the less free it allows us to be.

I also happen to think that it's a good idea to eat three well-balanced and nutritious meals a day. But I sure don't want the government mandating that we do so.
 
I'll go with the seatbealts, required or not. I do understand the delicate balance between safety and freedom, but I don't personally feel threatened by the requirement to wear a seatbelt. I have relatives who I'm glad are required to wear them. Not trying to convince or be convinced, just sharing. Now food, that's another thing. Don't touch my M&Ms!
 
they're a good thing

they're a good thing

I'm glad that there are seat belt laws. Too many STUPID parents don't educate their children by example or by caring enough to buckle their children in safely. You still have a choice -- you just need to evade the police -- as if none of us break the speed limit.

My daughter's friend lost her mother who "hated" seatbelts when her SUV rolled over on a road she travelled daily in her own neighborhood and she was ejected. Interesting how many rollovers are occuring with these SUV type cars and yet people are feeling strangely safe in them because they are bulky and high off the ground.

Geesh -- and what about motorcycle and bicycle helmets! My echo tech was saying that he loved the free feeling of no helmet on his bicycle!! We have many bicyclists her in Oregon and every year we lose some, helmet or not. This was a sweet young 20-something year old and I just lit into him about protecting himself for his future and to find another way to feel free!!

Stay safe!! Marguerite
 
Marguerite53 said:
..Geesh -- and what about motorcycle and bicycle helmets! My echo tech was saying that he loved the free feeling of no helmet on his bicycle!! We have many bicyclists her in Oregon and every year we lose some, helmet or not. This was a sweet young 20-something year old and I just lit into him about protecting himself for his future and to find another way to feel free!!

Stay safe!! Marguerite

I don't care for helmet laws, either. Bicycle helmet laws, especially - they've produced an entire generation who have come to accept the government mandating what they do for their own good.

Best way to enjoy your freedom is to put on your safety belt or your helmet through personal choice.
 
When I was growing up we didn't have no stinking seat belts. And I've been in the the back of an open pickup (even hung off the tailgate) in my younger days.

When I joined the military, most Air Force Bases were requiring seat belt usage to come on the base. And you had better not be stopped not wearing one while on the base. It got to be second nature to us to buckle up.

As Barry has pointed out, it is a shame that there are laws requiring their usage. But only until States started passing them did people start really using them. And even with the laws on the books some still don't see the need. Georgia passed seat belt laws several years ago but after several interest groups got involved they made three (that I know of) exceptions:

People in a pick-up truck--reason, farmers have to get in and out of their trucks and it would be too much trouble for them to have to buckle and unbuckle.

Police Fire and Emergency Vehicles--reason, Police need to be free to get out quickly (most are smart enough to still wear them) and Fire Trucks for the same quick reason and also because of the gear we wear. I try to remember to put mine on when I drive one of our fire vehicles but usually don't.

And right after they established mandatory seat belt usage, they stopped requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets (recommended it but not mandatory). Go figure.

May God Bless,

Danny
 
I find quite an irony in the fact that it is mandatory to wear seatbelts in your car (yes, here in Australia too), yet public transport such as buses and trains have no seatbelts whatsoever.

Now trains... I can see that seatbelts wouldn't really have much use, but I've been travelling in buses on several occassions that have had close calls with other vehicles and had to slam on the brakes - and if your sitting down your face is almost slammed into the seat in front of you (in fact I did once end up with quite a fat lip when this happened on a school bus).

Another occassion I was standing at the front of the bus (..again, there doesn't seem to be any problem with standing in a moving vehicle that is deemed "public transport", but not in a privately owned vehicle..(??)..) and was almost thrown through the front window when some jerk pulled in front of the bus. I ended up with quite a badly twisted ankle because all the people standing behind me were thrown forward and on top of me.

I just can't understand why it's illegal not to wear a seatbelt in a privately owned vehicle, but you don't have to wear them on public transport. I would have thought today's public liability issues would have made them mandatory on public transport in the blink of an eye! Having said that, they have started introducing seatbelts on coach transport (tour buses, etc), which is semi-mandatory, but metropolitan buses are exempt.

I also agree that once you are legally an adult that the choice to wear seat-belts and bike helmets should be your own - at least then the Darwin Effect could weed out those too silly not to wear them!!


Cheers
Anna : )
 
think a minute here. Those laws bring in $ - more ways to get it from us. The seat belt law is one that I always obey, tho. I don't think people should be ticketed for not belting. But as I just said, it brings in your $.
 
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