Do not...get a seat belt ticket in texas....$148 dollars....its a long story...Oh and Dont get out of the car.....nope ; /
Yep. That's what actually force my wife and I into the habit of wearing seat belts all the time. My wife got a ticket less than half a mile from the house (coming home). At first we figured it was no big deal. Then we found out how much it cost and we have both been wearing our belts ever since.
Before that I was pretty against HAVING to wear one. My wife's sister was almost killed because of wearing her seat belt. She was t-boned when she was about 17 (other person's fault) and the car rolled. She was strapped in by the seat belt (which probably saved her life up to that point), but the problem came when the witnesses tried to get her out of the car. The car was on fire and the seat belt was jammed and even though this happened in OK, none of the witnesses had a pocket knife to cut the seat belt. Luckily for her, after the guy that hit her came back to reality (he was pretty shaken up from the accident), he came over to make sure she was out of the car and ended up having to cut her seat belt. From what witnesses said, it was very reminiscent of a movie scene. He cut her loose, dragged her out of and away from the car and BOOM, the car blows up.
The thought of being "securely fastened" into a burning vehicle kind of made me against wearing a seat belt. BUT, the thought of losing $150 every time Johnny Law decided to pull me over switched my thinking. :-)
Carry a sharp knife with you at all times.
Oh, I do. [emoji1]
E-mail to friends and colleagues in March, 2012.
I am completely opposed to mandatory seat belt laws.
I am absolutely an evangelist for wearing a seat belt. I doubt I'd be alive today if I hadn't been wearing it, and if you don't wear one, you're an idiot.
The Accident
I was northbound on I-35, exiting to I-40 westbound. I think you all know this was a bad intersection to begin with, and the construction hasn’t improved anything. Entering the ramp at Point 1, a white something-or-other cut me off on the left side, from the emergency lane. I swerved to avoid and broke the rear end loose. I fishtailed all the way down the highway (Area 2), somehow missing all of the concrete barriers. Toward the end of the ramp , after I had cleared all of concrete sections (Point 3), I departed the pavement. I suspect I fell off with the right rear tire first, based on how it rolled. I completed one full roll to the right side, coming to rest on the tires just under the bridge at Point 4.
I believe the roll actually benefitted me—as I was headed down the ramp, I could see the concrete pillar for the bridge ahead of me, so I think the roll dissipated a lot of energy that would otherwise have sent me into the pylon.
The Damage
Definitely totaled. Front windshield broken (the safety glass held together, though); left window shattered; rear windshield ejected whole; right and left rear quarter windows shattered; left A-pillar and both D-pillars collapsed; both fenders damaged; roof collapsed; undoubtedly other stuff that’s less visible.
Injuries
2 minor/none. I walked away literally laughing (adrenaline dump and a minor whang to the head may have contributed to the latter bit). I had a slightly sore neck and a cut from some glass. I reported to the hospital Monday morning after experiencing tremors, some stuttering, and mild aphasia. The doc gave me a CT, during which times symptoms abated. The ER doc looked at the CT and said—and I quote—“you don’t have a swollen head.” (So there!) I still have a small piece of glass in my hand, but the orthopedic surgeon is on vacation this week. It’s really just an annoyance. Canis doofus walked away with his tail wagging and proceeded to make friends with the responding patrolman.
Reflections
First and foremost: I’m lucky to have walked out of this one.
Second: very little luck was involved. Amusingly enough, I was discussing the amazing safety technology that has come out of the racing industry not 24 hours before the accident. Most importantly, I was wearing my seat belt! When the roof the ground, it hit hard; everything in the car went to the ceiling. It even emptied the seat-back pockets, and I found the ejecta all over the car and the highway. If I had not been strapped in, the best case is that I would have come down on my head with my full weight; worst case, I could have been ejected too. The airbags did not deploy, but they would have been no help in this case. My seat belt absolutely saved my life, and the way the frame soaked up energy kept me from any serious harm.
Third, go see the doc right away. I felt fine immediately, but a day later, started to lose the ability to form sentences. As most of y’all know, I don’t generally lack for words, so that’s a pretty significant deal for me. I’m still a little bit twitchy, but it’s getting better.
Y’all stay safe out there; I should be in the office tomorrow.
I am completely opposed to mandatory seat belt laws.
I am absolutely an evangelist for wearing a seat belt. I doubt I'd be alive today if I hadn't been wearing it, and if you don't wear one, you're an idiot.
Here was mine - I don't have a picture of the bad side handy. That window was busted out (I wear some of the glass in my chin) and everything in the cab besides my strapped in body (including my hat and sunglasses) were ejected along several hundred feet of highway. I rolled 5 times and ended up on my wheels. Elderly woman ran a stop sign at 45mph onto the dived 65mph highway I was on. Came from behind an embankment. I saw a red flash and bang, she hit me in the front passenger quarter panel. Note the red bumper that was so wedged into my truck's front end that it took the ride with me. I was over 400' from where her car stopped (the impact point) IIRC from the accident report.
I assume you're opposed to DUI laws and defective equipment violations as well?
I stughle to understand why Oklahoma has seatbelt laws but no helmet laws. The state must be receiving some federal tax dollars to inforce seatbelt laws.
Seat belts keep the driver behind the controls of a vehicle during evasive maneuvers and minor accidents that could be worse if the operator was no longer behind the controls.
Seat belts protect other people on the road and in the vehicle.
It's fine to oppose seat belt laws, but to be consistent one should oppose any other traffic law made in the name of safety.
Seat belts protect other people on the road and in the vehicle.
It's fine to oppose seat belt laws, but to be consistent one should oppose any other traffic law made in the name of safety.
Our federal highway dollars are dependant on OK complying with seat belt laws.
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