Seat belt warning

If you get knocked out of your seat by a bump in the road you probably shouldn't be driving anything other than a wheelchair, as for if something hits you to knock you out your seat that itself is usually going to take all your attention from your direction of travel to what the hell just hit me anyway. There's all the videos of vehicles being hit and then hitting othestuff and you can't tell me it's all because they aren't wearing a seatbelt. If your truck gets hit headon or Tboned at 45 by another truck doing 45 you're losing control no matter what you do.

 

Exactly ☝

 

I'm not saying that you'll be guaranteed to be able to regain control over your vehicle if you're wearing a seat belt...only that you are guaranteed NOT to be able to regain control over your vehicle if your butt isn't at the controls.

 

And I'm saying that is a pointless argument because if you get hit hard enough to be knocked out of your seat you will not be in control if your in your seat either. Im not saying seatbelts don't save lives and aren't a good thing, I have issues with people telling me that it's a good thing to require everybody to wear it punishable by law because well then we end up with them thinking it'll work to require us to do anything they please.

 

And that right there is the biggest load of utter crap I've ever read, spouted off by somebody who clearly lacks experience behind the wheel.

When I was a kid, I was in the Boy Scouts. I was probably 12 or 13 years old at the time, and we were loaded up on our way to a winter camping trip. Dad had an '89 Club Wagon van loaded down with other people's kids when we hit a patch of ice on a little 2-lane road. Van spun around 3 times before stopping in the middle of the road. Do you think my dad could've been sawing on the wheel and working the pedals trying to keep out of the ditches and regain control if he was also fighting to stay behind the wheel? Possible, but not likely. We were all strapped in, and while it nearly gave my dad a heart attack, us kids all wanted to go for that ride again...crazy kids.

Point is, if you're sliding sideways on ice, all it takes is a little dry patch to abruptly slow the car and if you're not strapped in, you won't slow WITH the car, which means you'll either slide across the bench seat into the passenger position, or you'll be on the floor if you've got bucket seats. If you think you can "hang on", you're delusional...the forces involved are far stronger than you, and besides, you're also trying to steer and work the pedals.

Even getting T-boned, it may startle you and take you a moment or two to realize what just happened...but if you're still at the wheel, you can step on the brakes and try to steer to minimize further damage. If you got tossed by the initial impact, you're just along for the ride until you hit something else big enough to stop you.

Bottom line, your chances of regaining control are ZERO if your butt isn't secured in that driver's seat. Nobody is claiming that your chances of maintaining control or regaining control are anywhere near 100%...but they are far greater than ZERO. If you can't see that, well maybe you shouldn't be driving.

 

NASCAR drivers wear seatbelts.....

*Drops Mic*

 

NASCAR drivers wear seatbelts.....

*Drops Mic*

 

NASCAR drivers wear seatbelts.....

*Drops Mic*

 

I believe they actually y wear a 5 point harness closer to an F-16 than a truck, and then there's the little part about them going 180 or better

 

Point is, though, unlike you they actually understand Newton's first law. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest, unless acted upon by an outside force. When you're in a vehicle, it doesn't matter if you're going 55 or 155, your body is in motion same as the car. When the trajectory of the car changes due to an outside force, unless you're strapped into the seat your body WILL continue along its previous course...meaning you are no longer in your seat behind the wheel. Ever watch the in-car cameras during a crash? They don't just throw their hands up and let the car go wherever. They are turning the wheel and working the pedals to try to recover control and minimize further damage...something that just isn't even remotely possible if you're no longer at the controls.

One other note. Vehicles are designed to absorb the impact, thereby reducing the rate of deceleration experienced by your body. That only happens IF you're strapped in...otherwise, there are 2 crashes: one between the car and whatever you hit, and the other between your body and the car. Your body doesn't exactly have crumple zones...